You're My Treasure
by RileyTheWriteyDude
Summary: An unexpected discovery at an unexpected time, that's what Jim Hawkins encountered. But it was not an ordinary discovery, it was one that was to change his romantic life; even if it exists. Of course, only a girl who would be able to do such a thing. A mermaid, to be precise, named Ariel Triton.
1. Chapter 1

**Alright, I am back with a new story! I recently just watched The Little Mermaid again, and my goodness I do not remember Ariel's voice being that good. And like any other fans, I suppose, I had to ship a character with another. I mean, that's what fandoms do, right? I knew the shipping from years back then, but I wasn't so interested in it because Ariel wasn't really by favorite character back then. Jim was one of my favorites, but I didn't ship him with anyone back then. But now that I have watched The Little Mermaid again, you get the point. I just had to, like any other people did.**

 **This story is basically what happens when the two meet each other using the plot from the original Little Mermaid, drizzled with my own twists and turns. So, as cliché as it sounds, I need to state this before beginning the story; this story is only a background story of how the two met. I actually wanted to write a story of this… discovery that Jim and Ariel encountered, but a background story of how the two met wouldn't hurt, I thought. So that would be in the second book.**

 **Oh yeah, I do not own anything about "Treasure Planet" or "The Little Mermaid" apart from the plot that I'm using in this fanfic. Enjoy!**

James 'Jim' Hawkins was a better person than before after having through an adventure of his life. Because of his adventure, the Benbow Inn which had burnt down was now back on its foundation. Because of his adventure, more people started to show up in the inn. Because of his adventure, smiles were seen more frequently on his mother's face, Sarah Hawkins.

However, because of his adventure, his desire for more adventure turned him into a more rebellious man than before. Six months of academy lessons in the Naval Academy bored him, and the purpose of the academy seemed to be against the idea of Jim's own purposes. So, he quit.

Sarah couldn't believe her eyes for the first time when her son entered the door of the inn with an academy uniform on. Reason after reason was surprisingly explained by Jim with patience to his mother, however, it still took days for Sarah to get over it. Getting over the fact that her son would rather wash the dishes than to become a proper soldier was a hard thing to do for Sarah.

Jim was still the old Jim, still possessing a strong will to find freedom in any free time he could possibly get. And that freedom happened to be near his inn, sat against the outer wall of the building. It was his solar surfer, very much still functioning under the care of Jim himself.

Having no interest in work at the moment, Jim used the opportunity to seek freedom. The sun was out, which meant more energy for the solar surfer to use.

Jim had learnt about the areas that he was not supposed to fly at in the academy, which he had to give credit to the academy itself for such a knowledge. Later, he realized the only area that was not covered in any legal law was the ocean. Luck was on his side, as the ocean could be met with several hundred steps from the Benbow Inn to the north.

Jim strolled down the steps, which some were steep, but he managed to reach the beach. He placed his solar surfer on the sand, and did a kickstart on the vehicle. Several attempts were done, and at the fifth, the engine eventually turned into life. Seeing so, Jim quickly spread the solar sail to absorb every sunlight he could get.

"Alright, let's go baby!" He exclaimed to himself, and floored the throttle right after placing himself on the surfer. Needless to say, his eyes were placed at the back of his skull due to the massive g-force he made by accelerating that hard.

"WOOHOO—"

Freedom was defined in the moment. Jim Hawkins was unstoppable, quite literally, because no written law was against him right now. He climbed some altitude to pierce through the clouds. After only seconds, he discovered the space above the clouds. To savor the moment, he yelled on the top of his lungs once again while a hand was slicing through the clouds.

Jim reduced his altitude to meet the ocean, and by saying reduced, it was close enough for his arm to reach the water while still gliding on the surfer. The water greeted his hand with a cold sensation, and combine that with the wind in his hair, he erupted a laughter from his throat. This kind of moment had no such thing as an equivalent.

Satisfied with performing more aerial acrobats, Jim slowed down his speed as he landed on the beach. The thruster on his surfer was steaming hot, so he let it cool down for a moment while sitting down on the sand, gazing to the view in front of him that consisted only the sky, the ocean, and some rocks in the water decorating the view.

However, he soon realized that the view didn't just consist of those three. He spotted a pair of eyes, which quickly hid itself.

"Huh? Anyone there?"

With suspicion, Jim threw away his boots before stepping into the water. He approached the rock that hid the object that he was seeking for. What he found answered his question, there was a person after all.

It was a girl. Before he could even scan her looks, she quickly rotated to the other side of the rock to hide herself again. Seeing so, he tried to assure the person.

"Hey, don't worry, I won't do any harm," Jim approached the girl, and got an angle to see her thoroughly.

Jim's lower jaw dropped a little to the sight he was spectating at this moment. The female's beauty was the cause of it, and it wasn't like he was complaining. Her blood red hair impeccable, her blue eyes were mesmerizing, her slim figure was elegant. In conclusion, she was the most beautiful girl Jim had ever seen.

"You… won't do any harm?" The female questioned, returning Jim's gaze.

"Oh, yes, of course. Why would I?" Jim chuckled to himself. "I uh… you… happened to be swimming here?"

She nodded. "And… you happened to be flying previously," she let out a scoff, "which was quite the performance."

Jim scratched his hair. "Ah, so you've noticed. Please don't tell the cops? Although, technically, they can't arrest me because I haven't broken any law whatsoever—"

"Cops? What are cops?" The female cocked a brow.

Her response was an odd one to Jim. "Um, the police? You know, they ride on solar surfers too, but different to what I have. And they usually patrol some areas—" Jim cut himself. "Except… you're not from around?"

"Well," the female raised something from the water, which turned out to be a pair of fins, "I am from the water, if that even answers your question." She smiled slightly, but the smile quickly faded away when she saw Jim's facial expression. He was mesmerized, but the female misjudged it as an expression of fear.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't even be here, I'm just a freak. Goodbye—" as she was about to leave, he grabbed her hand to prevent her from doing so.

"No, please, don't!"

Jim's action was no doubt initiated by reflex, along with a sense of curiosity to the female. Seeing so, the female turned around and looked at him, as if she was giving him another chance to speak.

"I… have befriended many kinds of people, which includes a half dog, a half cat, who was my captain back then, a navigator robot, a cyborg, who was the closest person to a father figure to me, and a pink slimy creature with the size of a palm. Yet never have I ever complained about it. I think I can add you into the list," he extended his arm for a handshake while smiling, "may I?"

The words touched the female, there was no denying for that, although she had no idea of some of the words that boy had just mentioned.

The female extended her arm as well, and shook his hand. "You may," she curled a smile.

"I'm Jim. And you are…"

"Ariel."

 **Do review, please :) it's been a while since I last wrote anything, so I'm open for critics.**


	2. Chapter 2

"You… you use that to comb your hair?"

"Yes! Fantastic, right? Humans are so smart, that their inventions are just—oh! So cool," she showed what called the 'dinglehopper' to him. As odd as it was to see a mermaid combing her hair with a fork, he couldn't help himself but to laugh at it.

"Pfft—Ariel, I'm afraid we actually have a tool, which is not that, that is used for that very purpose," Jim dug into the pockets in his jacket, while Ariel was left puzzled.

"What do you mean another tool? Why would you have two different tools for the same purpose? I don't see that being logical—" she stopped herself when Jim pulled out the tool he meant. Narrowed eyes, gaping mouth, neck tilting from one angle to another, the mermaid was certainly curious.

"May I?" She handed out her hand.

"Of course.""

Once the tool was in her possession, comparison was the first thing Ariel did; between the dinglehopper and the mysterious yet interesting tool. The mermaid really did take her time in the process, that it became silent for a few minutes, which was unbearable for Jim. She even counted the amount of teeth the mysterious tool had.

"The name of the tool is a comb, by the way."

"Comb, huh? It's very… interesting, indeed," grabbing the comb, she used it to straighten her hair, which worked fantastically.

"Oh my. It works brilliantly!" She combed and combed and combed, but it was an unusual sight for Jim. Usually, he would comb, and get stuck, and use force to continue the process. In this case, Ariel seemed to have very few tangled hairs. Jim only raised a brow, not having the desire to ask. She was going to have more examination, but then she remembered something.

"Oh, we've been here for a while, Jim. I have to go now," she looked back to the ocean, then back to him, "can we meet again?"

"Sure, tomorrow, same time?" Ariel processed the suggestion, and nodded down in confirmation.

"Tomorrow, same time. And can I keep the comb?"

"Heh—for a price, of course,"

"What's the price?"

"Hmm," he reached his hand out for hers, "friends?"

"Oh, do humans do this, too? Starting a friendship with a handshake?" She instantly returned his hand and shook it with a grin.

"Oh nah—it's just, perhaps some do, which I happened to do, which I never did before, but," at this point, Jim had run out of words to say.

"You get the point."

"I'm sure I do—and Jim," Ariel leaned in closer,

 _"_ _thank you so much."_

The gap between the boy and the mermaid was rather close, Jim was very sure at this point that Ariel was feeling the rising temperature of his face. However, she didn't.

"Uhh, you're welcome."

"I'll see you tomorrow, Jim!"

With that, Ariel left into the depth. Still hypnotized by those goo-goo eyes, Jim walked away to his solar surfer, while having his attention in his own head, not where he was going as he tripped on a rock.

"James Hawkins!"

Her mother called from the inn above the beach, his full name, particularly. Kids know that mothers who call their children by their full name was never going to go well. Jim was very much aware of this, and hustled his phase.

"Yes, mom!"

From the edge of the cliff, Sarah Hawkins popped her head to see the source of the reply. A frown was seen from Jim's eyes, even from a distance that is enough to make her mother look little.

"Cut the fun times and come up here! I need you to take care of the inn while I'm away for errands!"

"Ugh… coming…"

He was coming, but then stopped in the middle of his track to look back at the ocean, with a hope to see a glimpse of a red head. But the hope faded as her mother called him once again.

Ariel, on the other hand, was thrilled to add a new addition to her collection, which was where she's heading. On her way, passing corals and several other mermen and mermaids, her eyes stopped at a particular fish.

"Flounder! Hey!"

The yellow fish turned to the source of the voice, and waved in response.

"Hurry, you've got to come with me!" She commanded and took the fish by the fin.

"Whoa, slow down, Ariel! I can swim on my own—" the fish pulled off himself from the mermaid's grasp, and kept on with her phase.

"What is it this time, Ari?"

"I'll tell you once we're there!"

"There?" Before Flounder could even question, he noticed the bag Ariel was holding.

"Oh… there."

Flounder only took a guess after seeing the object in Ariel's possession, and he was right. The duo arrived at a rock, which imitates a normal reef, however it stored secrets. It has an odd shape, towering upwards with its entrance only known by these two living beings.

Ariel took a hold on a rock, and moved it with ease, revealing a hole that leads into the inner side of the rock. The two entered simultaneously, and shut the entrance to prevent any unwanted guests.

Inside, it was a galore of men made creations. The walls of the place provided a perfect storage for the scavenged treasures. On the very top of the room, a hole, round shaped, which at the current time, the sun was seen to match the hole's size.

"Now, what is you that you've found, Ari?"

The mermaid turned to him. "Very inpatient, are you, Flounder?" She gave him a friendly smirk.

"Well yeah, new things are always interesting," Flounder shrugged.

"True, very true, indeed. And here it is!" Ariel pulled out the comb from her bag.

The object turned Flounder curious, "huh? What's this?"

"It's called a comb… to comb hairs," Ariel shrugged. "I wonder why they didn't come up with a better name, 'dinglehopper' sounds nicer, although I'll admit, simplicity is… well, simpler."

"And," Ariel continued, "it works flawlessly!"

She gave Flounder a demonstration. The comb sliced through her hair seamlessly, which to Flounder's opinion, seemed to be no different with the dinglehopper.

"I don't see how this is supposed to be better than the dinglehopper, Ariel," he spoke.

"Well this one has more teeth than the dinglehopper! So, it straightens more hairs per stroke," she proudly replied, as if she was the inventor of the tool itself.

"So, you're implying that humans have made a better tool than the dinglehopper to comb their hair?"

"No, this is a tool entirely made for that, and the only one, Flounder."

"So, what's the dinglehopper for?"

It was right on the end of her tongue, but she took it back. She wasn't sure of her answer, which could've been confirmed by Jim had she asked it to him. "Ah… I do not know, I should've asked him," Ariel looked down.

"Him who?" Flounder questioned.

"Ah! Flounder! I forgot to tell you," she firmly held the fish's fins. "I met a human today!"

Flounder's jaw dropped, but Ariel placed it back on and let go of him.

"Oh, he was so sweet! At first, I saw him flying, literally, FLYING on the sky! He was flying on this… board that had something glowing on the back. He was gone for a minute or two in the clouds, but I waited for him, and listened to his cheering in the cloud. I bet he was having so much fun—" with no near hope of expecting the end of Ariel's story-telling performance to be anytime soon, Flounder swam to her to make sure he's heard.

"Ariel! A human! You met a human?!"

"I haven't even reached the best part yet! He gave me this comb thing!" She showed the fish the object once again.

"So you're telling me you talked to the human?!"

"Yes! Is that a problem?"

"In the eyes of your dad including other merpeople, yes! Ariel, you know you're not supposed to—"

"Oh Flounder, what's life without taking risks? Besides, he was a nice person!"

Flounder dragged a fin from his forehead down to his chin. "What if your dad finds out—"

"Which he didn't, no one knew, in fact" Ariel cheekily smiled.

"Yeah, but I know you're probably going to meet him tomorrow or the day after that or else," he frowned. "Ariel, I know you would."

The red head smiled sheepishly, "you know me like a book."

"I know you like the back of my fin, Ari."

"Well, you wouldn't tell this to anyone, right?"

He sighed. "Like I've always done, Ariel. But having too much secrets in your life isn't healthy, Ariel. Not to count… interacting with a human."

"Flounder, I assure you, he's a great person. I mean, we've only chatted for a little, but it was enough to form a first impression."

"What's his name?"

"Jim."

"Well, Ariel, next time you're meeting Jim, take me with ya, will you?"

"Sure," she bobbed.

"Hahh… Ariel, you and your stuff…" Flounder complained. The mermaid simply giggled at his hopelessness while placing the dinglehopper on a spot near her collection. She was going to place the comb right next to it, but then she hesitated.

"Do you think I should bring this along with me? It's a pretty useful item," she stroked her chin.

"Ariel, don't. People will ask you about the origin of that thing, and if one of those people happens to be your father…"

Flounder's reason sounded true enough in her mind, so she left it with the dinglehopper.

"Alright, Flounder, let's go."

"Yeah, let's."

The mermaid headed to the entrance of the rock, and shifted it to the side, allowing them to go out. Not forgetting to close the entrance back, Ariel and Flounder proceeded to head to Atlantis.

However, the picture of Jim appeared in her brain.

"You know, he's quite the looker, to be honest. He seems like a man who'd deal with…"

And it went on and on, with Flounder being the only listener.

However, one tiny figure spotted the two on the move. Where they were was a question mark to the tiny figure, but he was determined to find out. After all, he was given the task to give supervision by King Triton to his daughter, Ariel.

"Hmph… Sebastian the composer… looking after a girl," the crab complained. After that, he walked to the direction the opposite of where Ariel and Flounder were heading, trying to figure out where they've been.


	3. Chapter 3

"Here's your food, kind sir. Do enjoy!"

The staffs of the Benbow Inn were busy bees. The quota of customers had increased ever since Jim's return, which meant more work to deal with. However, the new members, which were B.E.N and Morph, did bring extra "hands" into the process. Morph transformed itself into cooking tools that Sarah needed, often finding himself tasting the food as well before they're served to the customers. It was a win-win job.

It did take time for the two to adapt in the place. B.E.N had dropped several plates, slipped on slippery floor, brought the customer the wrong food, and many other typical newbie mistakes. Morph used to stir the soup by transforming into a knife, cut the vegies with the form of a spoon, and some other mistakes that Sarah could only giggle at.

"Right, Sarah, I've delivered every single food and drink, and I _did_ check if they're the correct customers," B.E.N reported, using his wheels to approach Sarah, who was staring at the customers in front of her from the kitchen.

"Anymore food to deliver?" B.E.N took a glance at the kitchen, where no foods were being cooked at the moment.

"No… not yet. Ah, c'mere B.E.N. You need to learn this," Sarah pulled the robot by the shoulder. "I name this situation 'The Calm Before the Storm'," she gestured to the customers with an arm, narrowing her eyes.

"And… why did you exactly name that?" B.E.N questioned, cocking a brow. Sarah thought he'd know what she meant.

"Do you even understand the meaning of the phrase?"

"I… uh, do not have a database of the latest English phrases, I'm afraid. Maybe I can add that into my dictionary, what does it mean?"

"B.E.N, it means a moment of silence before a certain activity shatters the moment abruptly. You can take a breath for a minute or two, but then," Sarah paused for a few seconds, her eyes focusing from one customer to another, one table to another.

"Oh Sarah~ Refill please!"

"Sarah, can I have an extra portion for my son?"

"Hey robot guy! Where's the bathroom?"

"Sarah? Could you please add more pepper onto my plate?"

Numerous customers began to call for orders, varying from extra that, less that, a question, and any kind of order imaginable. What was a peaceful moment, filled with the sounds of spoons and forks dancing on plates, had turned into a chaos of orders. Sarah said nothing, and pushed the robot off of her way to serve the customers.

Meanwhile, B.E.N's processor was heating up. He couldn't figure out who ordered first, and second, and third. With that, he randomized his path while taking the orders.

Sarah, who's more experienced in the job, had already returned to the kitchen when B.E.N was still stuck with his second customer. Once again, machine was beaten!

"B.E.N, I didn't hire you for this, come on!" Sarah jokingly called, followed by a trail of small giggles.

"A minute, Sarah! Uh…" B.E.N turned his attention back to the alien he was facing, whose body perfectly reflected a man's body, but a head of an eagle. "You wanted more... meat?"

"Yes," the alien replied.

"Okay, um, right away sir!"

The 'storm' that had taken place was lasting, and its end didn't seem to be anywhere close. The constant orders kept flowing, and B.E.N's processor couldn't handle them anymore. He walked into the kitchen while giving his head a massage, although it wasn't helping at all considering he was a machine.

"S-Sarah… I need some air," Sarah turned to the robot while carrying plates. Morph, who was in a form of a knife, formed back into its usual self to see the matter.

"Ah, you robots breathe in air?" She chuckled, which was her new behavior, apart from making more jokes.

"Yes—well, technically no, but a little coolant would be nice?" He made that robotic smile. Hearing this, Morph flew to the machine and turned himself into a fan.

"Hmph, looks like you've found your solution, benny," she walked past the two out of the kitchen with a smile.

"Please, Sarah?" B.E.N asked once again, pleading almost.

"Five minutes," she turned her head to him, "and call Jim down here."

"Oh thank god."

B.E.N pushed the pink alien away, and received a few laughs from him. With a slow speed, B.E.N's wheels led himself out of the inn through the backdoor. Once he was outside, a breeze of sea wind swiftly greeted the machine. The coolant process had already begun, and it didn't take long for B.E.N to have himself collected once again.

But the robot decided to take his time.

He went to the narrow and curvy stairs that would lead him into the beach just below the inn. His plan was to splash some water on his head to really make sure he's cooled down, but it didn't seem to happen when he stopped at his track when he saw two figures in the beach, seemingly to be having a chat.

Eyeing behind a rock, B.E.N learnt that it was Jim, talking to a girl whom he never learnt her identity. He zoomed in his vision to take a better look with his robotic eyes, and ran through the database of the people whom he'd met previously for any match. The search ended with zero result.

"Who is she—WHOA!"

The robot was trying to have another zoomed look, but its hand didn't have a grip on the rock he was hiding behind, which resulted him falling into the sands from the stairs. Of course, the two's conversation was paused.

"B.E.N?!"

"Ugh…" B.E.N pulled out his head from the sands. Some of his eyes caught a few bits of sands, and he used wiper to clean them off.

"What are you doing here?!" Jim helped him stand, trying to block his vision from the mermaid.

"Ah… mother called… it's your shift, hehe."

"My shift is not until another hour, you—"

"And who's the lass, eh?" B.E.N took a peek through Jim's armpit, and his eyes widened as wide as round tray. He never saw the tail that Ariel had.

"My GOODNESS GRACIOUS, IS THAT—"

"SHH—" the brunette immediately shut the robot's jaws. "You will not tell anyone about this—please, it's…"

"Why are you trying to keep this as a secret?" B.E.N asked, even with his jaws held by Jim.

"No one cannot know this, just…"

While watching the two from behind, Ariel looked at the rock that was on her right, debating to herself whether she should hide herself in this case. While pondering, she accidentally overheard the two talking about a storm, chaos, and orders. She could only guess what they were on about. Soon, Flounder appeared on the surface, with an object in his fin's grasp.

"Ah, thank you Flounder!" Ariel took the object, which was the comb. "I was afraid I'd lose it, that wave certainly did crash into our conversation."

"Yeah, it did. It didn't wash away too far—WHO'S THAT?" the fish pointed at the robot, who was still talking to Jim.

"Uh… he just crashed in as well." The mermaid shrugged.

"When?!"

"Few seconds ago?"

"Alright…" Jim spoke, which made the two's attention turned to him. "Flounder, Ariel, meet Bio-Electronic Navigator, or Ben."

"Ooh… fascinating, Flounder, you're the prettiest Flounder out there! Your eyes are perfectly placed in front of your face! And your mouth is flawless! And Ariel… that's a pretty name for a tropical fish." The robot knelt in front of the two. Ariel and Flounder tried to process his sentences, which they failed miserably. A 'smack' sounded from behind, because Jim's facepalm sounded that loud.

"Ben, Ariel is the mermaid. Flounder is the yellow fish."

A pause filled the air, and it was broken by the mermaid's forced chuckle.

"N-Nice to meet you, Ben," she gave her hand for a handshake, which was returned.

"M-My bad, Flound—Ariel!"

"Ariel, I gotta run now, come on Ben," Jim cut in.

"Awh, really now? We haven't finished about your adventure—"

"Haha, well, I guess you'll have to wait then. Just remind me tomorrow where we last left off," he waved and grabbed B.E.N by the arm. "See you later!"

She waved in a slow phase, still not accepting the fact that her conversation was abruptly stopped. Her eyes spectated the two on the move, until the cliff they reached didn't give her anymore sight of them. The mermaid's elbow dragged on the sand, while her palm was supporting the weight of her cheek. She was clearly unhappy with Jim's sudden departure.

"Hey Ari, what's that on the sand?"

The fish gestured to the shiny object on the sand. It was positioned on where Jim last stood. Seeing that, she came up with the hypothesis that it was his. Desiring to have a closer look, Ariel beached herself. Her muscles moved her arms to pull her closer and closer to the object on the sand. Once reached, she immediately sensed that it was metal through her fingers. She rolled herself back into the water, and discovered that it was a silver pendant.

"Oh my… it's beautiful."

"What is it? What is it?"

"It's… like a something humans put on their neck, or perhaps on their wrist," she shook her head. "I don't know what this is, Flounder."

The pendant had a round shape, imitating an egg. There was a line that cut across the object around it, which Ariel assumed its purpose was as an extra decoration. But once she gave a firm pressure on the pendant, it opened.

"Oh, it opened… whoa!"

A projection materialized from the pendant, and it displayed a picture, it was a picture of a family. A father, a mother, and a baby. The parents were dressed fine, while the baby was wearing simple baby clothes. Even with the picture's color in black and white, Ariel recognized the baby's eyes, as if she had known them for a long time. It was Jim himself.

"Jim was so cute back then…" a smile was formed on her scarlet lips, with the lower one being bitten by her teeth. Flounder doubted on Ariel's statement regarding that the baby was Jim.

"How do you know this is Jim?"

"I… just do," she turned to him. "I don't know how. I just know it's him."

"Well, what are we going to do with it? We can't just leave it here, or call him to come down here." Flounder began pondering for a while.

"I guess we'll have to take it then," Ariel shut the pendant, turning off the projection.

"You're not going to add it into your collection, are you, Ariel?" Flounder's brow furrowed.

"No, of course not. I'll have it stored in my safe place first, and return it to him tomorrow," she firmly held the item in her hand.

"Alright, let's get going then."

The two cut through the waves, leaving the beach of Benbow inn with a temporary member to be added into Ariel's collection. The depth of the water increased, and they followed the depth, until it led the two to their usual spot.

As usual, she opened the entrance, and entered in.

However, the unusual part, was that a tiny figure was watching the two in stealth.

"So that's where they usually go… What could they be hiding in there?" Sebastian, the crab known for its skills in composing music, spoke to himself. Ariel didn't happen to shut the entrance immediately, and Sebastian saw this as a chance.

He leaped from the corals, and sneaked in. He tried to keep a low profile, however, he almost spoiled everything when he lightly gasped at the objects that the grotto possessed. The collection varied in sizes, shapes, functions (which he had no idea of). Sebastian shut his mouth right away, and spectated the mermaid and the tropical fish behind a crate.

Ariel laid herself on the rock in the middle of the grotto, and opened her fist. The pendant reflected a trace of light from the sunlight, which formed a smile on Ariel's face.

"Humans do make a lot of beautiful things…" Ariel popped the pendant once again, and the same projection was displayed. Curious, Flounder circled around the projection, and he was surprised when he swam through it.

"Ah, I thought it would be solid, I wanted to touch it," Flounder sounded complaining.

"I mean, there's no increase in weight, Flounder. This thing is probably forged out of light." Ariel spoke of her theory. She shoved her thumb on the projector, which resulted the projection to be gone. Once she moved her thumb away, a different projection took place.

"Oh, what's this?"

 _"_ _Mom, what's for dinner tonight?"_

A young Jim was seen walking towards a direction, in which her mother appeared. The mother turned to her son, and picked him up with a smile that only mothers would have.

 _"_ _Your favorite, sweetheart. Fried bacon, some corns—"_

 _"_ _Ah, wait, did I ask about the dinner? I mean, the bedtime story for tonight?"_

The mother looked at her son with a confused look.

 _"_ _Jim, it's not even bedtime yet—"_

 _"_ _Yeah, I know. But I can't wait! At least tell me what you're going to tell!"_

 _"_ _Oh Jim…"_ She couldn't help but to giggle at her son's attitude. After that, she started considering stories that were available. One came up to her mind as she snapped her finger.

 _"_ _Oh, how about Captain Flint, the space pirate who collects treasures from a thousand galaxies?"_ She suggested, considering it was a book that she recently just bought for her beloved son.

 _"_ _A thousand galaxies? YES, I want that one!"_

 _"_ _But!"_ She raised a finger, _"let's add a thousand calories into that belly first,"_ with her index finger, she tickled her son on the belly. Within an instant, he laughed hard while trying to avoid.

And the projection stopped.

"Oh Jim… Bedtime stories over dinner, huh?"

"Well, I'd have dinner over bedtime stories," Flounder commented.

"I believe this is priceless, it's too valuable, I must return it to him fast," Ariel rolled her eyes down at the pendant. "I wonder if he knows if it's missing."

 _"_ _Well I know one thing that's missing, missy,"_ Sebastian whispered to himself, although still in the process of processing what he had just witnessed.

 _"_ _And it is my respect for you, Ariel! You've interacted with a human?! Seagull is one, but a human?! This is unacceptable! I must tell this to the king right away."_

Done cursing the mermaid, Sebastian creeped away from the grotto, and headed back to where he belonged. The palace of Atlantica.

* * *

"Is this the place?"

"There's no doubt, here, it says Benbow Inn."

"Right. Might as well fill our belly out, mate."

"Well, let's not forget our main task."

With that, the two men in cloaks walked their way to the inn, with a special task at hand.


	4. Chapter 4

The crustacean made its way down the city, passing through merfolk along the way. The corals in his surroundings provided shadows, allowing Sebastian to lurk with stealth. With his small size, he was almost invisible. However, his grumpy face was very much appealing.

"Tha' mermaid is so busted… Wait 'till her father hears—"

A dash of a stream made the crab pause. It wasn't just that, he heard laughter. It was a familiar one, belonging to the one and only, Ariel herself. Under the corals Sebastian hid himself. The mermaid's best friend was seen near her, sharing laughter as well. Ever since the two had been caught scavenging a wrecked ship in the area where sharks would roam, a smile on the princess' face was rarely seen, as Sebastian found.

The two best friends stopped in the middle of their track, stopping for a chat. Hand gestures, genuine smiles, an abrupt laugh, Ariel and Flounder were certainly enjoying their conversation. Sebastian eavesdropped a few words, and concluded that they were talking about the world up above the surface. Sure, it wasn't a topic that Sebastian would talk about, nor even think about. But the princess was undoubtedly into it.

Sebastian looked at the city through a gap between the corals. He was nearing, for sure. But why would he? Would he really destroy the happiness and joy that the princess often only would find in a wrecked ship? Would he really do it?

"Ariel… you and your…"

"Oh, Sebastian! Hey!"

Gasping, Sebastian looked up, immediately greeted by the mermaid. Not knowing of what to do, the crab simply waved a claw with a smile. Ariel approached the composer with her best friend.

"What are you doing here? You don't usually travel around the reef."

"Oh, well—I was… returning to the city—"

"Where did you go?"

 _Damn you and your questions kid…'_

"I was from… the…"

Even a mere merman would notice the sudden change of tone, as it doesn't take a genius to realize that Sebastian was a terrible liar. Sebastian was very much aware of this. Nevertheless, he went for it.

"I was from… errands. So, I've been to numerous places," he grinned. Somehow in in some way, the mermaid bought it, and so did her best friend.

"Ah, busy one, aren't you, Seb?" A higher tone was heard in her voice. "Although I never really find you doing any 'errands' befo—"" Before the mermaid could even finish her sentence, Sebastian dashed towards the opposite direction of Atlantica city. The sudden movement left the duo puzzled.

"I just remember another errand to do! I'll see you later, bye!"

Sighing, Ariel and Flounder shrugged it off, seeing no interest in following Sebastian. They resumed their trip back to the city, while Sebastian could only look from a distance. All he saw was a genuine happy mermaid and her best friend, and it would break her into pieces if he were to tell the secret to her father. Indeed, Ariel was one of a kind among the sisters, with her red hair and her bubbly always-on-the-curious-side personality. Curiosity was indeed found on some of the daughters of King Triton, however, the one in Ariel was extreme. She'd do anything to add a piece of knowledge into her brain, as she would find it satisfying and amazing to know more how less she knew. It was her only source of happiness, and Sebastian didn't have the guts to take it away.

"Hmph… You win this time, Ari. But I'll keep my eyes wide open on you," he crossed his claws.

* * *

"Right, order number twenty…"

Jim dashed through the tables, and placed the plates he had on table number twenty where two chicken-like aliens were sat.

"Here are your corns… and veggies… with extra cheese!" Enthusiasm filled his tone,

"enjoy," but didn't on this part.

The dining room was not crowded at the moment, which meant an easier job to deal with for the bored male. He had a love and hate relationship with the job he's dealing with, but in his opinion, it was a better thing to do than being in the academy. His mother had a different view, but she accepted his son's in a hard way.

"Jim," his mother called. Being a good son, he walked over to her. "I can take it from here. Go somewhere else." At a split second, his eyes were going to bulge, but he put on a normal expression.

"Alright mom," he hid his excitement in his tone, and looked at the clock on the wall. It was time.

He walked in a fast phase to the backdoor of the inn, and the view of the sunset welcomed him. He slammed the door behind him, and without noticing, every single step he took was observed by two men in the inn in silence, who were 'nonchalantly' enjoying their meal.

"You sure that's the boy?"

"Positive. That's him. We'll set a plan first after we leave," the man replied, taking another sip of his soup.

Weeks had passed ever since Ariel's first encounter with a human, and their friendship had strengthened even more. It took a certain period of time for Jim to get used to the talking tropical fish, Flounder. But then, having compared his friends in the sea and the ones on the land, Jim wouldn't mind having a fish to talk to.

Meeting every day was too much for the mermaid to manage, since her life was often filled with a schedule that didn't necessarily go well together with her own desired schedule. She'd warn Jim every time they'd part ways about the next meeting. However, consistency was not her specialty, considering her schedule might change anytime. Therefore, she could only give an advance 'sorry' if he were to walk up to the beach and wait all day, only to find that she was not coming.

However, a promise was made in the current time. In a serene transition from day to night, Jim and Ariel promised to meet again. This time, Ariel promised to return something that belonged to the Hawkins. She had forgotten numerous of times to return Jim's pendant, and in this meet up, she already had it in her possession.

Jim waited patiently on the sands. Usually, the presences of Ben and Morph would accompany him, however, their absences were the ones that accompanied him. Ben had talked to the mermaid and the tropical fish, only to find out that they're merely fascinating species that only legends had documented. Getting to talk to a species that had never been recorded in Planet Montressor was an experience with nothing that could match with any other experiences he'd had. Morph, meanwhile, only added the two as two new living beings to rub himself against, mainly on their cheeks. Morph really loved cuddles.

However, it was only Jim at the moment. Him, and the subtle sound of the wave washing on the shore, and the sun on the far west, being swallowed by the sea.

A red object breached through the surface, and to no one's surprise, it was Ariel. The sight curled a smile on Jim's lips, as he waved a hand at her.

"Hey Ari."

"Jim," she removed a few strands of hair off of her vision. "Hey!"

Seconds passed, and Flounder joined Ariel above the surface.

"Hey Floundy."

"Floundy? That's new," Flounder retorted.

"Ah, Jim, here it is, your um…" she retrieved the object out of her satchel. "What is it called again?"

The boy could only chuckle at the mermaid's lack of knowledge, or perhaps, memory, more like. "Pendant."

"Yes, pendant. You're right. Anyway, here," Ariel approached the boy, and handed the object. He observed the item to find for any damage or anything close, and found none.

"The seawater didn't seem to give any damage, huh?" The male put on the pendant back around his neck. "I guess that old merchant was right, for that price, not even seawater could give this thing a rust."

"Oh Ariel took a good care of it," Flounder chuckled.

"I certainly did."

Jim glanced to the two and smiled. "Thanks. It's a priceless one, this is," with a finger, he flipped the pendant open, which projected that very picture that Ariel first discovered. The Hawkins' family portrait. The two merely watched the projection.

"I'm assuming you and your curious head had already managed to open this thing? Because you don't seem surprised to see something appearing out of nothing," Jim questioned.

"Yeah, when I first found it, I gave a firm press, and it opened, and that…" she pointed at the portrait. "Showed up."

"Oh…"

Disappointment was unintendedly intended in his tone, Ariel and Flounder couldn't help but to notice.

"Sorry, maybe we should've asked for permission first," Ariel carved a line on the sand with a thumb, biting her bottom lip.

"No, it's fine. There are just some… embarrassing stuff in here…" Jim chuckled in the end. "Like…"

"Like what?"

Jim's gray-blue eyes met with Ariel's light green ones, which were full of unsolved questions. "Like… a portrait of me, very much still an infant, just dressed with… nothing."

Ariel's brow cocked. "I… never saw that one."

A smile slightly formed on Jim's face. "Hmph, here. To heck with it." He slid his thumb over and over, shifting through many pictures. He stopped at a particular one, displaying a one year old Jim, very much naked. Ariel and Flounder took a gasp at the picture.

"AWW—" The brunette shut the pendant, and the awesome sight was gone.

"AWH, JIM—YOU," she gave the boy a friendly push. "LEMME SEE IT AGAIN, LEMME, PWEASEEE…."

"My my, Jim…"

The three could've sworn that the air around them froze, even with the wind blowing really hard right now. The source of the voice came from Jim's back, as Jim discovered. It was his mother.

"James Pleiades Hawkins, I never knew you'd made another pair of friends."

Jim stood up. "Mom, I can explain…"

"What's there to explain?" She smiled casually, approaching the mermaid and the tropical fish past her son. "Hello there."

Sarah didn't seem to be anywhere shocked as Ben once did. She simply knelt down to lower her level down to Ariel's while handing a hand for a polite handshake. Ariel felt nervous at the woman, not wanting to give her trust away right away.

"Don't worry, pretty one," Sarah assured. "I've met one of your kind before."

"What—mom? You,"

"Oops, that wasn't supposed to come out. I spat it right away, didn't I?" She glanced to Jim with a cheeky smile. The statement gave the mermaid a little confidence to return the handshake Sarah was offering. She even smiled at her.

"Whoa, mom. Hold on, you've met a _mermaid_ before?" Jim was dumbfounded, stroking his hair in disbelief. Never had he ever thought a person like his mother would meet something out of the ocean.

"Yes. And… a talking fish!" Sarah gave a small 'fingershake' at Flounder.

"Nice to meet you, Ms. Hawkins. It's an honor," Flounder politely greeted. "My name is Flounder."

"And my name is Ariel, Ms. Hawkins," Ariel introduced, nodding down a tad.

"I see that my son has been sharing some names," she once again glanced at her son. "Hasn't he?"

"We've been friends for only several weeks, but we did share some stories and… names," Ariel confirmed with a smile.

"Mom, you haven't answered my question," Jim reminded. His throat erupted a chuckle before continuing, still not believing at the woman. "How? When? Where? Who?"

"I clearly heard 'question'… but oh well. Oh wait, how about we save it for later?"

Jim crossed his arms. "Mom, come on—"

"You're um…"

"I'm what?"

"You're not ready yet," seriousness was clearly there, very much intended. With a glance, she conveyed her seriousness before turning to the mermaid with a completely opposite expression.

"My, my, you're a beautiful one."

Sarah's compliment earned blushes on Ariel's cheeks.

* * *

The night sky had already taken over, and it's been two hours of endless not-running-out-of-topic-anytime-soon conversation between the three. Flounder had to return home due to her parents that might get worried over their young child. But, even with his absence, the chat kept on. Ariel discovered Jim's mother to be a very nice person, a very motherly one, to be precise. However, the chat was more of a chat between friends, although not for Jim and Sarah.

"Our city is going fine. But, I do know one thing for sure, _it bores me_. If only Flounder is still here, he'll agree right of the bet. But, you know, parents. Flounder is their most loved one."

"Hmph, I see you in her, Jim," Sarah rolled her eyeballs around. "You're always bored with anything you have."

The male sighed in annoyance. "Oh please."

"Oh I'm sure he finds his happiness up there Ms. Hawkins," Ariel pointed at the dark sky. "You should've seen him pulling tricks midair!"

Sarah's jaw dropped a little, inhaling a gasp. With a furrowed brow, she turned to her son, only to find her son pretending not to know what Ariel meant by looking at the horizon.

"Jim," she quickly turned to Ariel. "Oh, and just Sarah is fine, Ariel." Ariel nodded down. "You went solar surfing again?!"

Jim sighed once again. "Mom, I've learnt in the academy that the law doesn't cover the use of the space above the ocean for solar-surfing, or any flight that crosses it! So I'm perfectly fine!"

"But we all know how much of a _terrible_ swimmer you are!" The adjective used in the sentence immediately made the mermaid giggle. "The engine could've died in midair! What if there were a strong wind? You and your trick wouldn't be able to save the day, would they?"

The two continued on and on, and Ariel found it as an amusing chat to listen to, presumably because she never had one like this. Sure, an argument is not the nicest thing to have between a mother and a son. But, like life, it's a part of it. There are the sweets and the bitters. A tad of jealousy appeared in her mind, wanting to experience something like this in her life.

"Ugh, can you believe him, Ariel?" Sarah pointed a thumb at the male.

"Whatever mom."

"Sarah," Ariel chuckled, "I do believe he's a professional, though. Hearing his story departing to Treasure Planet did convince me he's a guy who knows what he's doing."

"Thank you, Ariel!" He raised a hand to have a high-five with her. "Finally, someone who agrees."

"Why are you raising your hand?" Ariel questioned.

"What—Oh, yes, I forgot. It's a thing that we do. Raise yours as well," Jim gestured her to do the same. So, she did, and he high-fived her.

"We do that when we celebrate over something. Big or small, we do that quite often," Jim explained briefly. "It's called a high five, because of our… five fingers. Haha."

"Ah… interesting."

"Interesting, indeed," Sarah smiled while landing her cheek on a palm. "You two are just unstoppable. For a daughter of King Triton, I salute you for being this… daredevil. I don't suppose a king would let his daughter even touch the shore."

"Well… there are just so much to see in this world, Sarah," Ariel smiled back.

"What about your mother? If your father doesn't know, does she?" Sarah leaned forward a little, not knowing she had touched a touchy subject. Jim was about to cut in, but Ariel's sigh stopped him from doing so.

"She's… dead, I'm afraid."

Sarah's blue eyes widened. "O-Oh, I'm sorry."

Ariel suddenly found the sand more interesting to look at. With her trust to the Hawkins, she mentally decided to spill everything out. "I remember the whole city mourning for her death. Not even my father could approach me back then. I shut myself for days, shut my appetite for every dinner and breakfast and lunch, shut myself from my friends!"

The Hawkins carefully listened to every single word she spoke.

"Back then, my mother would take me to wrecked ships to find treasures. It was not something that my father would completely agree, but with my mother's guidance, he let me. We would hunt, collect, and cherish any kind of object made by your people. However, the tradition stopped for a while since my mother had passed away, but then," Ariel looked up to Jim and Sarah. "I continued doing it, now with Flounder's company."

The story teller let out a forced chuckle. "It's silly, I know, to risk my life to collect items that are not necessarily valuable in your eyes in areas where sharks mainly hunt. But in those items… I see her. I feel her. It's the closest I can ever get to my mother."

Ariel's hand took some sand, and palmed it afterwards. Her forced smile turned upside down. Without noticing, a drop of tear made its way across the mermaid's delicate cheek, falling into the salty seawater when it reached her chin. It was an odd sensation, having never cried outside of the water previously. Knowing this, she tilted her head down to hide her tears. But her sobs gave it away.

In Sarah's eyes, she only saw a daughter. Not necessarily hers, but in the meantime, it was a responsibility of hers to soothe her. As motherly as possible, Sarah knelt down and hugged Ariel, not caring of her garment that got soaked right away. Sarah's warmth was quickly felt by the mermaid, and as a daughter who'd never received such a feeling, she returned the hug, almost desperately.

"It's alright, Ariel," she brushed her cheek against Ariel's forehead. "It's alright..."

"Oh S-Sarah…" Ariel's quivering lips prevented her from speaking, so she decided not to. Instead, she enjoyed every single second of it while it lasted. The red-haired female opened her watery eyes for a second, and only saw a blurry figure. Clearing them afterwards, Jim was seen watching the two with a small smile. He knew Ariel needed this, as he found a mother figure was something she was lacking of in her life throughout their friendship.

After giving a few rubs on the back, Sarah let go of the mermaid.

"I'm sorry, that was e-embarrassing." Ariel confessed, clearing her face from tears.

"Oh please, I've experienced worse," Sarah glanced over to Jim.

"You really had to, mom," he rolled his eyes away. The mother let out a few laughs, and so did the mermaid.

"But… thank you, Sarah. Really, thank you." Genuineness was seen in her gratefulness, all described with a smile and a pair of honest eyes.

"You're welcome dear," she cupped her cheek. "Don't be shy around me."

"We're here for you," Jim added, curling an honest smile.

Now that's something Ariel had never heard of, and never thought would hear in her life. For the first time in her life, she got to feel love, a _real_ one.


	5. Chapter 5

"Where is she? She's supposed to be here ten minutes ago!"

"I don't know! She didn't even go to dinner—"

"Shh! He's here!"

With his presence heard just a few feet away, the sisters lined up to bid their father goodnight. It's a tradition done by the daughters of the King to show how much of royal daughters they were. However, with the absence of their youngest sister, they couldn't keep a straight face up.

King Triton soon came through the curtain of purple seaweeds. Pleased of seeing her daughters lining up, he put his hands on his back.

"Girls."

"Yes, father," in unison the daughters spoke.

"I—Where's Ariel?"

It didn't take long for the father to notice the absence of his youngest daughter. He scanned the room from left to right, but came with a vain result.

"We have no idea, father. She hasn't been seen since…" Attina paused in mid-sentence, not knowing of what to say. The king waited for her to finish her sentence, when a red-haired mermaid peeked over his shoulder from behind.

"Did I miss something?"

King Triton turned around to see her, and his eyes bulging right away. "The dinner, you missed that."

"Ah, no worries," Ariel simply swam past her father towards Attina's side. "I caught up with it minutes ago, there were still some in the kitchen."

Triton crossed his arms, very much feeling suspicious. "Ariel? Where have you been?"

"Somewhere…" she turned around, only to find out her father not even buying the first word. Biting her bottom lip, her mind came up with an excuse. "The reef. Flounder and I had some… sightseeing!"

Triton reduced the gap between him and the suspected daughter of his, glaring a little at her. Every single girl in the room except Ariel herself looked at their youngest sister. They could already tell something smelled fishy. Triton was aware of this, but then, he decided to dig for the truth later on. Besides, he had the trusted companion he'd tasked just for the job.

"Very well," he looked at the other daughters. "Sleep well, my daughters."

"Good night father," the daughters replied simultaneously.

"Good night," with that, he left the room. The girls remained stationery for a few seconds before Attina broke the silence.

"Ariel, _where_ have you been?" Being the eldest among the sisters, of course she had to ask the question again.

"Attina, didn't you hear? I went to the reef!" Ariel was annoyed with the same question. To avoid more questions, she headed to her bed.

"No, that's not what I meant. Where have you been specifically in the past days? Or weeks, perhaps, I don't know! Where have you been?" Attina slowly approached her sister.

"And why should you care?" Ariel shot back.

Alana cut in. "Because we all know well enough that you've been to places where we do not necessarily want you to go to, Ari. Come on, don't be such a rock-head, will you?"

"I'm not being a rock-headed person, Alana!" Ariel chuckled, with _heavy_ sarcasm. "Is it wrong for me to come home with a smile on my face? Adella comes home with a goofy smile nearly every day, and god knows what she's been up to. Why don't you question her about that?"

"Because merboys happen to be attractive, Ariel," Attina crossed her arms. "She's being approached, or currently approaching a—"

 _"Being approached!"_ Adella exclaimed from under her blanket.

"Being approached by a merboy," Attina rolled her eyes around. "At the moment. At least we do know it's a merboy that's behind her goofy smiles, Ari. Now, tell me what's behind yours." She smiled reassuringly.

Although her reason was still yet uncovered, the hint had already been spoken several times by now, and Ariel couldn't simply ignore that. It was a boy. But there's no way she was going to spill everything right now. Her mind processed for any kind of excuse available, and decided to go with this one.

"Fine…" she sighed. "It's… someone. Happy?"

"Oh my!" Aquata suddenly rose from her bed to see Ariel. "Who? When? How?!"

"That's all you're getting, okay?" Ariel gestured her hands in denial, but it seemed to be a vain effort. Within seconds, every single of her sister perked up from their beds and circled their youngest sister.

 _I guess that's not all they're getting…'_

 _Someone, huh?'_

Being the responsible father he was supposed to be, Triton swam away in stealth after a little bit of eavesdropping action towards the throne room. The moonlight was illuminating the room from the crystal ceiling above. Although it was a mere dim lighting, it was enough for him to see his trident he'd left on the throne itself.

"I suppose if it's someone… Violence is not needed," he shook his head.

"Your majesty?"

A voice called from across the room, and a tiny red speck seemed to be the source. It was Sebastian.

"Sebastian?"

"I overheard you… what do you mean with violence, if I may ask?" Sebastian curiously asked, swimming over towards the king.

"It's Ariel."

"And what does the trident have to do with her?"

"Nothing, in fact," he smiled a little. "I think Ariel's into someone, right now."

Sebastian's eyes widened by a tad. "S-She is?"

"Yes, I overheard the girls' conversation, and I left at the point where Ariel gave up on Attina's question regarding her weird behavior lately. It was someone!" King Triton let out a single laugh. "I wonder who the lucky merboy is."

"O-Oh… A merboy."

"I gave you the task to observe her carefully, Sebastian. I suppose you already knew about this?"

"I… was about to report to you, just now, actually!" Sebastian smiled uneasily.

"Ah! So you've seen him! What is he like? Manly? Tough? Nerdy?"

"I think it's… best to leave the details away, Your majesty. I-I don't think Ariel would want us to interfere her privacy," Sebastian shoved his claws together nervously.

"And what do you think you've been doing with her, Sebastian?" Triton shrugged. "You wouldn't say that spying on her is not interfering her privacy?"

Sebastian gulped. "I…"

The king waved a hand to assure the crab. "It's okay, it was my command, after all. Tomorrow, you and I will see who the boy is together!"

"O-Oh tomorrow?"

"Yes! Tomorrow! It's time to see who it is!" He palmed his hand with a proud smile. "Meet me after breakfast, Sebastian. For now, good night!"

"G-Good night, your majesty!"

Sebastian watched the king leave the room into his room, and deeply sighed when he's out of sight afterwards. Just when he thought he couldn't get anymore nervous for keeping secrets from his own king, things got even worse.

 _Oh, what do I do?'_

"He's brown haired, as tall as you are, has a not-so-muscular body posture, and very kind," Arista counted every characteristic with her finger.

"Yes! And that's all you're getting! Period!" Ariel exclaimed. She had been answering questions regarding the boy in question, and the her sisters weren't going to be satisfied anytime soon.

"What's the color of his tail?" Asked Andrina.

Having enough questions fired at her, Ariel buried her face into her pillow and hid under the blanket. The behavior was giggled by the other sisters, who finally decided to leave her alone for the night. Except for one, who was Attina.

"Alright Ari," she landed a hand on her little sister's shoulder. "Eventually, we will see him in the flesh," she whispered.

"In your dreams, Attina."

"Perhaps not my dreams, but yours, possibly," she teased, giving a friendly push. "Goodnight, lover girl."

Hearing silence after a few minutes, Ariel decided that it was safe to take a look at a secret. Silently under her blanket, Ariel pulled out an object from under her pillow. It was Jim's comb.

 _Hm… Should I? Is it wrong for girls to do it?'_

With a hand, she lowered her blanket slowly until her eyes were finally uncovered. She gazed at the round hole in their room that provided a view to the open water.

"I… don't see why not," she smiled to herself.

The next morning, a family of aliens left the Benbow Inn. The inn's workers bid farewell to the family, and their departure marked the end of the holiday season in the year. It was the last family to stay in the inn.

Sarah gave a final wave at the Corington family as they departed on their solar cart away from the inn. After it took a turn, Sarah turned around to see at the empty dining room she's in.

"And that should be it," she crossed her arms. "I don't think things will be hectic from now on."

"I… put my faith on you, Sarah," Ben walked to the table the family last sat on. "I really need a long rest."

"I suppose you've had one when Captain Flint took your memory circuit," she smiled, taking off her apron.

"That…" Ben tried to find an excuse. "Wasn't… exactly one! You see, there's a difference between staying shut down and—"

"Don't think there is, Ben." Jim cut in, making an entrance from the stairs with a face fresh from the bed. Ben glanced at the boy before continuing to work, narrowing his eyes in annoyance.

"An expert in robotic now, aren't you?" The robot retorted.

"I am an expert at detecting excuses," he chuckled.

"Which was passed down from me," Sarah walked past her son. "Good morning."

"Mornin'… Where's breakfast?"

"Grab anything from the kitchen. I have to leave to the market to buy some supplies."

"Mhh…" Jim stretched his muscles. "I'll have a breakfast and a wind from the sea, please."

"Serve yourself, James." Sarah put on a hat and a satchel while walking to the door. "I'll be right back in an hour or two. Bye!"

Seeing her mother leave gave Jim the cue to initiate his plan. He aimlessly walked to the kitchen due to his blurry vision. Almost like reflex, and without even seeing where his hands were heading, he reached for the toaster and put the required breads in it. Thirty seconds of waiting, the breads popped up abruptly. Again, his hands reached for a knife and a peanut butter to apply some on the bread without Jim's visual guidance.

Once done, he walked out with the bread to the backdoor of the inn.

When the breeze of cold wind washed against his face, that's the moment where he was switched on. His gray-blue eyes peeled open.

"Ah…"

In front of him, he saw a painting. Only, it was real. Baby blue sky, several white clouds, and the dark blue ocean. The only missing touch was a red-haired mermaid at the moment, which was soon to be added. In their last meeting, they promised to meet right after breakfast.

As he descended down the stairs, Jim took small bites of his sandwich. He had something special planned under his sleeve.

"Right… this is it. It all comes to this very moment," he spoke to himself, then swallowed the bite he took.

The boy turned to the ocean. "The weather is perfect, the sun is out, it can't get anymore better than this, can it? Or do I plan for a setting with a sunset… damn, now I'm thinking doing it at sunset is better."

Jim took a bite again. "Right, come on, you've done this before. It's easy!... it's not, actually. It's Ariel, what am I thinking? Ugh… I can't possibly do this in the old-fashioned way."

He swallowed the bite. "I will firstly say… 'Ari, I have something to tell', or…"

Jim froze for a while, playing out scenarios in his head. Scenario after scenario was played, either the one where he uses his smolder to gain the mermaid's attention, or to the one where he stutters on every single word of his sentence, or the one where he pulls her to kiss her. Every possible scenario was thought out, until he resumed his walk down to the beach.

"What do I do?… I really… adore her…" he scratched his hair, finding the ground more interesting to see while walking.

"I really… do not want to… mess this up," his bare feet pressed against the sands. Feeling them, he turned instantly to the direction of the sea.

"God…"

"Are you okay Jim?"

Jim looked up to the source of the voice, and it took him by surprise to see Ariel already there.

"OH—ARIEL! Gosh, you surprised me!"

"Jim, you were… muttering on every single step you took on the staircase. What were you on about?" She smiled curiously.

"I—I uh… You know," he proceeded to generate a random word with his brain, and he came up with the word "life".

"Life… in general."

"Heh, I remember reading a book written by a human that I scavenged from a ship. There's a line that says, 'when life gives you lemons'," the mermaid paused mid-sentence, remembering the rest.

"You complain about the lemons," Jim finished, sitting in front of her and finishing his sandwich.

"… That's not the rest of the quote," she frowned. "You make lemonades out of the lemons!"

"I suppose we have a different view about life," he shrugged.

"What does that suppose to mean, anyway? What's a lemon? What's a lemonade?"

He chuckled, entering teacher-mode in an instance.

And the conversation proceeded to continue. The two were in a world where only the two of them existed. Their eyes often got locked at each other's, and smiles were seen frequently returning each other's. It had been like this ever since they gained each other's trust.

Ariel saw Jim as a book, an _attractive one,_ with secret pages here and there, there's always something new to learn. She'd be lying if she were to say that there's a single thing that bored her from him. His hairstyle, his posture, his soothing voice, his hypnotizing eyes, and the best part, his personality. It matched hers flawlessly, like that last piece of puzzle that fitted the whole puzzle. A desire to venture around with no one to wait for was a wish of hers, which, like any other wishes, are never bound to come true. But, she could really see herself doing what Jim does the best, which was venturing. Side by side, as adventure companions, as _lovers_.

However, as if she had a mental timer in her head, her time had run out from the current session.

"I really would like to travel down to—"

"I'm sorry Jim!" Ariel cut in, "I have to leave… now. There's a practice I have to attend, and you know how strict Sebastian is, as I've told you."

"Oh…" Disappointment filled his tone. _'I missed my opportunity, way to go, Hawkins!'_

Indeed, he did miss his opportunity. His plan to confess his love to the mermaid never happened.

"I'm really sorry, but I can meet up again today, on the bright side!"

The 'bright' side brightened the male. "Really? W-When?"

"Meet me at sunset. How about that?" Said Ariel.

"T-That's perfect!"

"Alright then! I'll see you—" at this moment, even with his heart cheered up by the news that she still could meet on sunset, he felt that he was going to lose her. Desperation filled his heart in an abundant amount in less than a second when the mermaid let herself being pulled by the wave. He had to do something.

"W-Wait, Ariel!"

The mermaid halted.

"Yes?"

"Can…" he grabbed his pendant. "Can I… record you in this pendant?"

"Record me?" She took a grip on the sands to reach for the male. "What do you mean?"

"This pendant had recorded memories from my life, some were filled by my mom, but when I understood of how to operate the tool, I had started recording memorable memories by myself," he explained with a smile. "And I thought… I'd record you in here too."

"Ah… So I'll have a picture of myself in there!" Ariel pointed at the object.

"Correct. So if you please, this will just take a second or two." Jim flipped the pendant open, and initiated to begin a short recording. He pointed the little item at Ariel, and it scanned the mermaid with flashing green lights.

"Alright… I guess, say cheese?"

"Cheese?"

 _Snap_. The pendant finished recording.

"Why cheese? What's a cheese?" Ariel questioned.

Jim smiled at the pendant proudly. "More on that this evening! Don't miss that!"

Ariel giggled once. "Remind me about the cheese thingy then," she smiled. "Alright! I'll see you!"

She let the waves carry her back into the water before cutting through it like a butter knife. Seeing that, Jim had a look on the recording the pendant had done. The pendant projected the one and only, Ariel, laying on the sand, tail curled upwards.

 _I guess, say cheese?"_

 _Cheese?"_

He chuckled at the short clip. Her dreamy face was one out of many things he adored from her, so he played the clip several times, and smiled with goof all the time.

"She's beautiful, isn't she?" A deep voice called.

Jim shut the pendant off, and he gasped deeply at who it was.

A merman, with a built posture, and a torrent of water supporting his weight to keep him stand straight up to face the boy from the beach. It was King Triton himself, although his identity was still a question mark for Jim. Jim didn't bother to question the man's identity. He saw him as a threat, so he desperately tried to retreat by crawling backwards.

"Do not worry, I mean no harm." Triton spoke reassuringly.

"W-Who are you?!"

"I am King Triton. Ring any bell?"

"King Triton… _King Triton?!"_ Jim's bell was rung.

"Yes, boy. Kneel before me," Triton gestured him to kneel with his trident. Seeing that his position as the king of Atlantica was no match with Jim's position as a cabin boy, he obeyed the king's command.

"I did say I meant no harm… but you do mean one," Triton spoke sharply. "I cannot trust such a peasant looking boy on my daughter's side, especially if he's a human!"

Jim frowned at the king. He wanted to spit back, but he carefully chose his words. "Y-Your majesty, we're simply friends!"

"You're fooling no one, boy! You're in love with her, and so is she with you! I cannot let that happen! You and your gossipy mouth will only spread of our kingdom, and that will do no good!"

"Your majesty, I haven't done anything like that! Your daughter specifically requested your species to be kept as secret, and I did as she requested! I've told no one, and will never do!" Jim was pleading at this point.

"Hmph, as the king of Atlantica, I must do what must be done. I cannot take any risk," Triton pointed his trident at the boy. "I will have to erase your memory about anything related to our people, especially, my daughter, Ariel."

Jim inhaled a gasp. Hearing this, he stood up, and walked backwards slowly. "Your Majesty, you can't do this!"

"I can, and I will," the torrent of water that acted as the base of King Triton moved the king forward towards the boy. The trident in his arm shone brightly, its light blinding Jim.

"No, PLEASE!"

"Goodbye."

From the tip of a trident, a yellow beam was shot, echoing a thunderous sound. It hit right on Jim's temple, and there was no avoiding. Everything happened so rapidly, and with Jim being blinded, he was an easy target.

The shot left the human unconscious. Triton deliberately used very few energies, as his purpose was to only erase Jim's memory about everything he knew about mermaids. Pleased with the task done smoothly, Triton turned around to head back into the ocean. Sebastian jumped from the rocks near him to catch up with his king.

"Your majesty… your daughter will be…"

"I know how she'll react. And as a true father, I will tell everything by myself," Triton retorted. Hearing this, Sebastian stopped following him with a disappointed look.

"She will get used to this, no matter she likes it or not."

Sebastian watched the king leave, then took a peek at the boy Ariel's in love with. He was still lying on the sand, very much concussed. Every single ounce of his being was filled with empathy. Neither of the two deserved any of these, as they both simply found happiness in each other.

A robotic figure rushed its way down the stairs to help the boy. Not wanting to be seen, Sebastian dived down underwater.

"Jim? Jim?"

Once he reached for the boy, Ben shook him left to right in panic.

"JIM!? WAKE UP BUDDY!"

Same place, different time. The sun was on the far west, and a figure breached through the surface of the water. The figure had a bright smile curled on her face, and it belonged to, of course, Ariel.

She looked up at the beach to see no one was there. It was an odd sight, considering Jim would always be there, on that one rock.

"Huh… I guess it's not just Sebastian who can come late," she complained about Sebastian's late arrival on the practice this morning, which was oddly a suspicious phenomenon. But it wasn't suspicious enough for her to investigate.

"I guess I'll wait for a while…"

So, she waited,

and waited,

and waited.


	6. Chapter 6

There was nothing but darkness.

He was accompanied by no one in the vast room, except voices that sounded familiar. The voices rang a ton of bells, but Jim could never come up with the owner of the voice. Infuriated with his vain effort, he gave up. Instead, he sat down, and listened.

He listened to every sentence, every word, every syllable, to study it. The urge to learn the owner of the voice was still there, but for now, recording it mentally was the only thing he could do.

" _Well, I am from the ... , if that even answers your question."_

" _I want to go out there, see what's here and there."_

" _Oh really? Silver did that? I suppose he still had a soft side."_

" _Jim… that was the best story I've heard in my entire life! It beats my old bedtime stories!"_

 _"Ah… So I'll have a picture of myself in there!"_

In the middle of his session, something urged him to leave the realm he's currently in. Something almost physical was bringing him back, something that made he end up peeling his eyes.

That's the moment where he realized that he was back in his bedroom. The round window on his left was a path for the sunlight to reach his face. In an instance, he bolted right up.

"Those voices…" he muttered to himself.

And of course, he remembered none of them. He did remember memorizing every sentence, but his brain remembered nothing. The result immediately irritated him, but in the same time, emptiness 'filled' him.

When he was about to turn his head to see the window, a stinging pain prevented him from doing so. He tried to endure it by gritting his teeth and rubbing his head on his temple, but neither worked. The pain kept stinging, until it went away completely after a few seconds. Its sudden departure left the male confused.

"What was that all about—"

"JIM—BUDDY, THANK GOD!" Ben barged in from the door, but a hand pulled him away, and Sarah showed up.

"Jim! Oh my goodness…" she immediately joined him on his bed. She placed both of her hands on her son's face, cupping his cheeks. "Are you alright? What happened to you?"

"Mom, I'm alright, please just…" he tried to take off her hands while looking down, but Sarah shook him to lock her eyes onto his.

"NO! What happened in the beach? Did something terrible happen?"

"The beach? I…" The boy was certainly confused.

"Jim, I found you lying on the beach, unconscious! Your head was steaming hot when I laid my hand on it!" Ben briefly explained, sitting down on the bed. "I suspect it might be a really hard concussion, but you producing steam from your head is… well, what can I say? If a lightning had hit you on the head, then that might be the reason. But there hasn't been any rain in the past weeks!"

"My… head?" Jim ran his fingers through his hair. "I'm… not sure."

"You're telling me that you don't remember a thing?" Sarah tried to meet his son's eyes again, which were rolling from one direction to another in confusion.

"I don't think I do, mom."

"Were you meeting up with Ariel?" Ben placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Ariel?" Jim looked up to the robot. "Who's… Ariel?"

Ben and Sarah exchanged a look, both expressing shock.

"Don't joke around, Jim!" The navigator robot pushed him in a friendly way. "Your crush! Your friend who's a mermaid!"

Jim cocked a brow in response, his mouth mouthing a 'huh?' Seeing so, Ben tried again. With his robotic eyes, he displayed a 'mental' picture of Ariel to mention her physical characteristics.

"Red hair, big green goo-goo eyes, green tail, slender figure?" Ben shrugged in the end. Jim's expression expressed an even more puzzled look as a response.

"Do I need to tell the color of her seashells?"

"Don't worry, we'll meet her. I'm guessing you two had promised to… uh… meet up tomorrow, right?" Sarah desperately tried to fit some optimism into her tone. "She'll know what happened to you. The only reason why you've been visiting the beach is her, lately. I know that."

"Mom, you're making no sense whatsoever," Jim responded.

She narrowed her eyes. "Jim… Something happened to you, and neither of us knows what. It could be anything, and if it erased your memory about Ariel, it could be a possible future threat. And you're… You're the only one I've got now."

Her face saddened, with her grip onto her son adding. "Jim, anyone can burn the inn, anyone can take my husband away, anyone can take my money and gold,

but if anyone were to harm you, my beloved son, I'd only allow it over my dead body."

The small speech touched the male, as it was indicated by him taking a firm hold on his mother's wrist. "I understand mom… I'll try to remember."

She smiled endearingly, and expressed some motherly love by hugging him. Not wanting to be left out, Ben joined the two.

"Tomorrow morning…" Sarah spoke, letting go of her son. "She should be there tomorrow morning. Let's meet her tomorrow morning."

It was late in the night, with just hours away from dawn. Ariel's red hair was still a beacon in water, even with the dim lighting from the full moon. She was heading back after waiting at the beach for no one for hours.

Her grudgeful phase was a sign of her disappointed mood. Her head was constantly tilted down, finding the seafloor more entertaining to look at. Once again, she had missed dinner. However, her current mood was overshadowing her hunger, making it almost nonexistent. She swam past the dinner room, and headed straight into the bedroom. Heading to her bedroom meant passing the throne room, where her father was patiently waiting for his youngest daughter.

Ariel slowly showed up from the entrance, not even minding her father while looking down. Her father frowned upon her.

"Have you had dinner, Ariel?"

"I'm not hungry," she simply replied.

"Is something wrong?" He asked.

"Nothing's wrong, daddy. I… I'm just not in the best state at the moment." She stopped swimming to face her father.

"Hm? Is that it? Mind telling your father what had caused it?" He approached her. She looked down once again.

"It's… really nothing."

"I wouldn't consider someone forgetting a promise is a 'nothing', Ariel." King Triton placed his hands behind his back. His statement made the mermaid look upon him right away.

"W-What do you mean daddy?"

"He forgot to see you, didn't he?"

She gasped, going backward slightly. "Daddy… I…"

"Ariel, my daughter, I suppose you _are_ very much aware of the rules we have, correct? No interacting to humans, as it will only bring possible future threat upon our kingdom."

Her eyes widened as wide as giant pearls. "Daddy, we're great friends! I trust him! I—"

"Humans are not trustworthy!"

"But he's different! He's unlike anything you describe humans as!"

The king paused for a while, crossing his arms. He returned his daughter's glare with his own. "No matter how different he is, he won't remember a thing about you."

Confusion filled her being. "What? What do you mean?"

"I wiped out every single memory in his head regarding our kind, especially you, with the trident. You left me no choice, but I have only taken action based on my experience, Ariel. No human is trustworthy."

Her mouth was agape. She wanted to cry but rage fueled her. "I left you no choice?! What could I possibly have done that made you do that, _father?!_ I simply _made_ a friend and got along, and that made you do that?!"

"Do not raise your tone on me, Ariel!"

"It's almost like you don't want me to be happy!" The statement pierced a hole on the father's heart. "WHAT'S _WRONG_ WITH YOU?! I'VE NEVER BEEN A HAPPIER PERSON WHEN I MET HIM AND NOW YOU'VE DONE THIS TO ME!" Triton's heart ached. "I HATE YOU! HOW COULD YOU?!"

Having no more fuel to add, Ariel dashed off to a direction that only her brain knew. Without noticing, she dashed past a fellow crustacean, Sebastian, who was listening the conversation in the whole time discreetly. He was definitely on Ariel's side, discreetly, however.

Sebastian peeked from the pillar he was hiding behind at his king, who returned to sit on his throne. He had a deep frown for a second before it turned into an expression of a sorry man.

Seeing that his king might need an accompany, Sebastian swam towards him. The king immediately noticed his presence, and gestured a hand to leave him be.

"Leave… I need some time alone, Sebastian."

"A-Alright, your majesty."

"And follow her, will you? No one knows where she'll end up."

"As you wish, your majesty."

Meanwhile, the mermaid was still cutting through water without a clear direction of where to go. She let her fin bring her to wherever it would end up. Only one thing mattered at this point for her, which was a nice far gap between her father and herself.

On her way, she stumbled upon her best friend. Without a word spoken, she took Flounder by the fin and continued swimming away.

"Ariel?! Hey!"

The hurt mermaid didn't bother to answer. When she noticed the path she was on was a familiar one, she made a decision of where to go. She swam and swam, until that one familiar rock was seen. Flounder noticed it too, it was the hidden grotto.

Seeing that his question wasn't going to be answered anytime soon, Flounder helped the mermaid open the entrance of the grotto, and shut it when they're in.

"Thanks…" she thanked, as she sat on the spot where dull beam of moonlight landed.

"Now, are you going to tell me what's wrong?"

She didn't answer right away. Instead, she buried her face in her arms, and crooked her tail. She proceeded to sob, mixing her tears with the water.

"Daddy… h-he found out about Jim."

"Y-Your father? He found out? How? How did he…"

"He overheard you and your sisters' conversation."

The voice was not supposed to be heard, but yet, it was, but it meant an unwelcomed guest had trespassed the grotto. Flounder and Ariel turned to the voice to find out that it was the crustacean, Sebastian.

"When he heard that you spoke of someone, he later decided to follow you when you're away to… somewhere, which was the boy." Sebastian confessed, shoving his claws together.

Ariel suspected something suspicious. She scrunched her eyes together before approaching him. "How did you know about him? Have you been following me, Sebastian?" She pointed a finger at him.

"My dear princess, yes, I've been following you, as it was tasked to me by your father. Yes, I've known about the boy for a while, perhaps as long as you've known him, only lesser. But, I have never told your father about the boy. I know that you're a happier person around him, and that's the only reason why I have lied on every single report I gave to your father after following you around. Your father found out about the boy when he saw him in the flesh."

What was a frown and a half on her face was now a face of a grateful person. Ariel brought her hands together to pick Sebastian up, and planted a kiss on him.

"Thank you, Sebastian."

He shoved his blushing cheek. "You're welcome, dearie."

She gently put Sebastian back. Flounder in the other hand, had one more question in question. "Well… if King Triton had seen Jim, what did he exactly do?"

"He erased his memory," Ariel returned to her spot. "He used the trident to wipe out the memories we've had, Flounder," her mood dropped again.

"Yes… he did that, after you left for the practice," Sebastian confessed. "I was there, and tried to convince him to find another way. But, his hatred to humans overshadowed his healthy mind. He wouldn't listen to me."

Shock occurred in Flounder's being. Filled with empathy, he gave a few rubs on Ariel's back. The trio went silent for a while.

"I… was about to confess my feelings to him this evening."

"Y-Your feelings?" Flounder asked.

"Yes," she turned to the fish. "Flounder, I _love_ him. I think he's extremely handsome, he's sweet, he's adventurous, he's everything I want from a guy. Yes, he's a human, but I could care less."

She returned to staring back at the treasures around her. "Now… he's up there, with no shard of knowledge about my existence. I imagine my father would command his guards to prevent me from reaching the beach where Jim's inn is sat on by tomorrow." She deeply sighed.

"My father's s-so cruel… how could he possibly do this…"

"He meant to protect you, Ari," Sebastian stepped onto her fin. His response turned the mermaid's eyes fiery.

" _Protect_ me?!" She buried her face. "I'm done with that reason. I'm done with my _father_ ," she specifically intended the last part to be spoken as sharp as possible.

"Ari… I…"

"I want to be with Jim, that's all I want. I just want…" she gazed at her fin. It was the only thing that distinguished the two. He had a pair of legs, and she had fins. She pondered of a life that she'd have, if she had a pair of legs. She'd run, dance, walk, and everything she'd do, Jim would be there as her companion. Ariel could only imagine the beautiful life she'd have with a pair of legs.

But was that all she could do?

"I want a pair of legs."

Sebastian looked at the princess with suspicion. "Ariel? What are you thinking right now?"

Ariel ignored the question. She pondered for a while to think of anyone who could make her wish come true. In order to have legs, she'd literally need magic to do the job. And there was only one person in the sea who possessed the power of magic other than the wielder of the trident.

"The sea witch… I suppose she's called the 'witch' for a reason, right?" She smiled in confidence.

"Other than having a bad history with the kingdom, yeah! Ariel, you're not going to see Ursula, right? She was banished from the kigdom for a reason!" Sebastian hopped onto her arm.

"Ariel, she's dangerous! She makes deals and merfolk often fail in keeping them!" Flounder warned, trying to meet the mermaid's eyes.

"You wanna know what's dangerous?" She looked at Flounder, "A father figure who doesn't allow his daughter to seek for happiness. That's dangerous."

With that, she swam off towards the entrance of the grotto, and left it right away. Both Flounder and Sebastian didn't manage to stop her, so the only thing left to do was to follow her, and make sure she's okay. There was no stopping for the mermaid. Determination fueled her.

In the dark water, the trio swam together. Nocturnal life was rarely seen in the reef they're swimming at, but some lives were woken up from their sleeps when the trio swam past. Curiosity caught them, but didn't make them go search for answer.

Minutes of swimming led the trio to an environment colored with underwater geothermal chimneys, exposing black chemicals in the form of smoke that chokes throats. It was a grim environment, with nocturnal life making appearance more often compared to where they came from. Ariel was feeling uneasy, but she kept on.

They eventually spotted a sea serpent; only, what was remaining was only the bones of the beast. It was named as Serpentine. The serpent's jaw was opened, and it led to a cavern, which was the lair of the sea witch herself. Sebastian, Flounder, and Ariel peeked at the menacing lair from afar.

"You sure that's her lair?" Ariel turned to the crab.

"Yes. And Ariel, this is a _terrible_ idea. Ursula is a dirty person! She'll pull tricks on you!" Sebastian floated in front of the princess' face.

"There's no turning back now," she pushed Sebastian away. "Come on!"

The yellow fish exchanged a look with the crab. They didn't want to agree with Ariel's idea, but in the same time, they didn't want her to be unhappy. For the moment, they could only follow her lead.

When they reached the entrance, two electric eels were spotted from the base of the Serpentine's jaw. Flotsam and Jetsam. Hissing to intimidate, they faced their guests.

"What have brought you to this place, young one?" Flotsam asked.

"I am here to see Ursula. I need her help," Ariel answered with sternness.

The eels looked at each other. They've never really had a guest with a straight and determined look. However, it didn't bother the two at all. Both Flotsam and Jetsam were pleased to have such a unique guest.

"Very well," Jetsam smiled. "Do follow us."

With that, the eels guided their guests in. As they proceeded deeper, they noticed the round tunnel they're swimming in. Little did they know, it was the throat of the beast itself, used as a tunnel that connected the entrance to Ursula's lair. On the walls, polyps with faces were seen. 'Worried' would be the word to describe their looks, but Ariel didn't seem to care much. Ariel had no idea that it was a literal garden of souls, poor souls of merpeople who had failed to keep their deal with Ursula.

At one point, a polyp tangled Ariel on the hand, trying to pull her. Seeing so, she pulled, and pulled, until she freed herself.

Ultimately, they reached a big room. Ribs were seen as the decoration of the walls, and hanging on the ceiling, was a giant purple shell.

"Master Ursula… we have come with guests."

From the darkness the shell provided, a pair of eyes materialized. One by one, black tentacles came out, revealing Ursula.

"My, my… Ariel, the daughter of Triton," she crossed her arms, smiling dirtily. "And… her companions, I see. What brings you here?"

"You're one of very few living beings who can cast magic," Ariel approached her. "And I wish for a pair of legs to walk on land. No, I wish to be a human!"

Ursula's eyes widened, and so did her smile. "Very straight forward! I like it. I suppose your daddy didn't grant your wish, did he?"

"Can _you_ grant my wish, Ursula?"

"For a price, of course. But first, let me guess." The woman reduced the gap between the mermaid and herself. Almost like reading a book, she found the answer for her question.

"Love. You're in love, aren't you?" She grabbed a few strands of Ariel's red hair. It took Ariel by surprise to see such a correct guess.

"How did you…" before she could even continue, Ursula pressed a thumb on Ariel's temple, 'reading' her.

"And it's… ah, that explains everything. A human. You're in love with a human, darling." A smug curled on her thick lips.

"C-Correct…" Ariel pulled herself off.

"No need to be touchy, Ariel. Give me a minute, I need to set the price, will you?" She smiled before heading to a black pearl, sat on a rocky base. When her hand made contact with the pearl, a spark of electricity was made. Ursula gave the pearl a firm press with both of her hands, and shut her eyes. Her guests could only spectate from behind, although it was a mistake of them. They couldn't see the smirk that Ursula had.

Once done, Ursula turned around. "Very well. I can grant you a pair of legs. However, within the next 48 hours, you will have to kiss the boy. Not just any kiss, but a kiss of _true love_."

"True love?"

"Yes. Aren't you two in love already? Should be easy for you, and perhaps, _fun_ as well. After that kiss, you shall have your pair of legs forever!" This part brightened the mermaid, she was really into the offer.

"And what happens if she never kisses the boy?" Sebastian asked, since Ariel never did.

"Then… I shall have her soul, _forever_ too." Ursula smirked. The deal affected the mermaid by a tad, but the reward she would get if she managed to complete the deal was too good to pass.

"I'm in."

Flounder gasped. "Ariel, no!"

"Very well! Just to make things clearer," Ursula summoned a paper in front of Ariel. Written on it, was the deal they had settled, and right on the bottom, a space for Ariel's hand signature. She snapped a finger, and a a fish bone acting as a pen was summoned too.

"Sign this, and we'll start the deal, Ariel!" Ursula exclaimed, as she shoved her hands on a rugged rock with patterns encrypted on it. She whispered spells that neither of the three heard, and the spell made the rock send a magical power onto the paper. It was empowered, it was alive, only waiting for a hand signature for activation.

"SIGN IN, ARIEL!" Ursula commanded, her voice echoing in the lair they're in. Without any hesitation, Ariel grabbed the pen, and wrote her name on it.

"YES! HAHAHA!"

A blinding yellow light enveloped the mermaid. Flounder and Sebastian couldn't see the whole process due to it, and neither could even Ariel herself. All she felt was the magic around her, doing its work. In a split second, the muscles in her tail were split into two individual legs. Her anatomy was redefined.

The enveloping light soon faded away, and the first sensation Ariel felt was a sense of a knotted throat. Her eardrums soon added more pain, about to explode anytime soon.

"GO NOW, LOVER GIRL!"

It didn't take long for Flounder and Sebastian to realize that Ariel was in a need for an environment that'd suit her new human body. They took her by the arms and dashed away from Ursula's lair.

Ursula giggled at the sight, and looked back at the pearl.

"That thing never fails me." She commented, giving a rub on the pearl to make it look cleaner than ever.

Little did they know, was that Ursula could see the future through that pearl. And an enemy who knows the future will always win, no matter what.

* * *

The door on Jim's room creak opened. A hand of a mysterious man appeared to be the opener of it, as he pushed it wide enough for him to come in. The man in the mask found that Jim was in a deep sleep, which meant an easy target.

The man signaled his colleague to follow him. After so, he signaled him to approach the boy from the other side of the bed. He had a big sack on his arm.

With typical old but effective style, the man prepared a piece of cloth, damped with chloroform. Soon, he placed it on Jim's nostrils.

Feeling panicked, Jim's brain immediately commanded his lungs to take a deep breath. But it never knew the chloroform. Hence, it didn't take long for Jim to return into the realm of unconsciousness. Only; the difference was, he was sedated.

The other man's muscular arm easily dragged the boy by the shoulder, pulling him into the sack.

"Right, let's head back." The man gestured at the ship he's seeing from the window.

With that, they left the scene with no witnesses.


	7. Chapter 7

**I'm sorry for not applying Sebastian's accent into his speeches. Imagining him speaking every single word is too much for me.**

"Jim?! JIM?!"

Sarah searched through the entire inn for his presence. She called for his name in every single room, including the guests' rooms, the most unlikely place to find him in the morning.

She rushed down the stairs. "Ben?! Where is he?!"

"Sarah, I searched every single corner in the first floor, and even scanned for any sign of life! I only came up with Morph's!" He reported, approaching the desperate mother. Morph floated towards Sarah's side from Ben's.

"Morph, you didn't see him?"

The alien shook its head as in a 'no'.

Sarah rubbed her temples with her hands, "where could he possibly have gone to?!" With a twitch of a muscle, she looked up to the window with the diamond pattern on it. The window gave a view of the ocean, which gave her a lead of a new place to search.

"There's no way he'd gone to the beach, right?" She asked to herself. Without even waiting for an answer, she lifted her dress by a little to gain more space for her legs to rush out of the inn. Once she opened the backdoor, the wind of the sea immediately welcomed her. Followed by Ben and Morph, the mother figure walked her way to the cliff that separated the inn and the beach. From on top of it, she looked down, and gasped deeply.

"Is that… Oh my god, what in the world…" she knelt down, narrowing her eyes to see better. Ben and Morph had no idea what she was spectating. Before they could even peek, Sarah rushed away to the stairs.

"Wait, Sarah—um, hold on," Ben halted himself, letting Morph go after the woman.

The robot had picked up something in his radar on the air in front of him. Something… out of its place. It's floating right on the air in front of him. Normal humans would only see the view of the sea, but Ben saw something in that view. Human eyes wouldn't be able to spot the very small object, but luckily, Ben was a robot, equipped with eyes capable of detecting molecules in the thin air. He stood there for a few seconds before catching up with Sarah.

Once Sarah reached the beach, her worst guess came into reality.

"Ariel?!"

Ariel's eyes rolled up to see the woman calling her name behind her soaked hair. A smile formed immediately.

"Sarah!"

She tried to support her weight with her arms first before trying to use her legs. But with her wobbly motion, she failed. But Sarah caught her before she could kiss the sand

"A-Ah… thank you Sarah."

Lifting her up, the woman scanned her looks. The girl she once knew as a mermaid was now a human, very much naked, except for her breasts which were covered by her seashells. It wasn't her naked look that shocked her, it was the new addition on her body; a pair of legs. Sarah's reaction was summed up with a drop of a jaw.

"Ariel… what have you done?"

"I've got myself a pair of legs!" She answered childishly.

She groaned in disbelief. "You r-really are unstoppable! Does your father know about this?"

She shook her head. "No."

"Then that makes me a hostile in his eyes. I have the daughter of King Triton with me, with her new pair of legs! Great, one thing missing only—"

"Miss, if you please, we don't have much time."

Both of the females looked down at the sand to see Sebastian. It took her by surprise to see a crustacean talking in an accent she had no knowledge about. "We only have time until sunset before she's turned into a mermaid again. She needs to see the boy at once!" A sense of fascination was taking over the woman, so she didn't pay attention to what the crab he just spoken.

"Oh hello there," Sarah gave her hand as a base for Sebastian to stand on, then brought him to her level. "A talking crab, never met this one before."

"He's a great musician as well, Sarah. His name is Sebastian!" Flounder called from the water. Sarah's eyes brightened at the fish.

"Oh hello Flounder!"

"Hello Sarah!"

The woman was certainly distracted at this point, so Sebastian needed a diversion. But before he could even gain her attention again, she cleared her throat. "Sorry, I've been distracted. What was that you just said?" She rolled her eyes onto Sebastian's.

Sighing, the crab explained once again, "we only have time until sunset before she gets turned into a mermaid again and have her soul sold to the Sea Witch!"

"The Sea Witch?" Sarah paused herself, coming into realization of what she was dealing with. "Oh no, no, no… Ariel, you're _so_ in trouble right now. I wish I could ground you if I could." She glared into the girl's green eyes. She could only smile hopelessly.

"Let me guess, true love kiss is the key?" Sarah asked, turning her attention onto the crab.

Ariel cocked a brow, surprised to see Sarah knowing the key. Sebastian also found it odd that Sarah knew such a thing. "Yes, how did you know that?" Ariel asked.

"I'll explain later. Let's get you something to wear first, Ari." Sarah rotated herself and the girl around to see Flounder. "I suppose we say bye for now, okay?" She smiled at him.

"Okay, bye-bye, all of you!" Flounder waved a fin.

"I'll share the stories right away when we meet again, I promise!" Ariel waved a hand. "Bye!"

With that, Sebastian hopped onto Ariel's shoulder before they turned to the stairs. Sarah acted as a support while Ariel was learning to use her new body parts effectively. However, they stopped when they noticed Ben and Morph, who happened to be watching them in the whole time from behind.

"Ben, Morph, you two go first. I don't want you to enjoy a 'view' from behind." Sarah commanded.

Morph nodded, however, Ben didn't. His gaze was locked onto the ocean in front of him. Once again, his system had picked up the same thing.

"Actually, Sarah, leave me be. There's something interesting in here…" He walked past the trio. As much as it shocked him to see a talking crab in the flesh, whatever he was picking up right now was more interesting, apparently. Sarah looked at the navigator robot in confusion, but didn't let him take her time.

"Let's go. Learn slowly, dearie. It'll come around."

* * *

"Now may us know where the boy is? We have wasted an hour just for Ariel to learn how to walk and get dressed!" Sebastian crossed his claws together while watching Ariel putting on a dress that belonged to Sarah herself. The impatience of the crab had just dug its way under Sarah's skin, as she put her hands on her waist.

"They're _essentials_ for her, just like how you learn how to walk sideways and use your claw for self defense, you crustacean!" She barked back deliberately to show who the boss was around. The message was conveyed, and Sebastian immediately shut his mouth.

With heavy heart, Sarah sighed, and looked at Ariel finished dressing up in a simple light blue dress, topped with a bow on her hair that knotted it.

"He's… gone. Jim's gone."

"Gone? Jim's gone?!" Ariel yelled.

"Y-Yes! Last night, he was still here. By morning, he was gone! His boots were not even taken, so someone had kidnapped him…" she shoved her arms together, looking at the floor in disappointment.

"He's gone… It can't be…" Ariel placed her hand on her forehead.

"And he has no idea who you are, Ari. Just when I thought things couldn't get any worse," Sebastian slammed his claw against the floor. Sarah's brow furrowed, remembering the fact that Jim somehow had forgotten about Ariel.

"Regarding that, Sebastian," she knelt down. "What happened to him? I found him on the beach yesterday, and he woke up knowing nothing about Ariel."

Sebastian looked up. "… King Triton used his magic to erase the memories he's had with her. Her identity, her personality, everything. The tool he used was his trident… so a little damage might be there." He emphasized on 'little'.

Sarah gasped a little, frowning before turning into Ariel. "I'll definitely have a word with your father if I stumble upon him."

"I never wanted him to do this, Sarah," Ariel sat on the bed. "But he's so strict with everything, too strict, I'd even say."

The woman stood up. "So if you knew that Jim had become a person who has no idea of who you are, what were you planning exactly? If he, let's say, still happened to be here with us?"

"I don't know… I just hope he'd remember me." She smiled faintly. "Maybe he just needs… you know, a kick, to let the memories flow again."

It was a plan and a half, in Sarah's opinion. A very sketchy one. But she's here, with her, and a pair of legs to walk with for her to use. She saluted the ex-mermaid for that.

"I know, I should've planned more thoroughly. I'm so stupid… now with him nowhere to be found…" Ariel imagined the life she was going to enter after sunset, and it terrified it. Every single fiber of her being was shaken, feared of her destiny that was coming in a short period of time. She couldn't hold it, so she proceeded to let it all out by crying.

Sarah took action by soothing the girl. The mother was very much experienced with the problem, and with her experience, the ex-mermaid immediately returned the woman's hug. Ariel dug her face in the woman's shoulder, soaking it with tears.

Sebastian hopped off from the table he was on to face the two. "I'm sorry, but if I may ask, how did you know about… the true love kiss again?"

Sarah sighed, and placed a few rubs on the girl's back. She proceeded telling her tale with a "it all began…"

At the beggining, Ariel was listening through her sobs. When Sarah reached the point where her tale was suddenly more interesting to hear, she pulled her face out of her shoulder, but still very much close with the mother figure. When she was nearing the end, Sarah gave a dramatic pause, and revealed the plot twist of her tale. The twist shocked the two.

"S-So… that means…"

The door of the room opened abruptly, revealing Ben and Morph. "I'm so sorry for cutting in, but Sarah, I have a new lead. I know where Jim might've gone."

The mother's face brightened. "You do?!"

"Yes, come with me, all of you!"

With his cue, Sebastian, with the help from Ariel, Ariel, and Sarah rushed after the robot. The robot led all of them outside on the cliff.

"Now Sarah, we both agreed that Jim was kidnapped, right?" Ben asked when he turned around to his spectators.

"Yes."

"That drop of chloroform on his bed sheet gave it away, and so did his boots that were never taken. So, I suppose we can agree with that. However, the kidnapper might've gone not to the civilization, but out there!" He pointed at the sea.

"What's a chloroform?" Ariel's curious side asked. Ben was about to give a long three paragraph essay of explanation regarding the question, but Sarah stopped him before he could even start.

"It's a chemical that induces people into sleep, if inhaled." She smiled endearingly at Ariel, as if she was her own daughter.

"Oh, okay."

"Now Ben, do continue."

"Okay, Sarah. They've gone to the sea, as I've mentioned." Ben reminded.

"To which direction, exactly? We can pull many lines from our spot but we—"

"And that's where I become useful, hehe!" Ben halted the woman with a raise of his index finger. "Now, our ships use the technology of solar powered thruster, correct?"

Sarah rolled her eyes around. "You don't need to ask for confirmation every time you know the answer, Ben. Believe me, I've experienced this before with you, Ben."

Morph, who was floating right next to Ben, happened to find it annoying too. So, he turned himself into a hand, and pushed the robot in annoyance.

"Alright, alright. Geez."

The robot turned around to face the sun above. "Now, our current technology uses solar power radiated by the sun. Solar sails capture those energy, and transmit them into thrusters, which will eventually give a massive thrust and move the ship forward."

Ben turned around back to his audience. "Now, what's interesting with the use of this energy is that the waste of this concept is not exactly a 'waste'. You know, we breathe in oxygen, and we exhale out carbon dioxide, which is the waste. But in this concept, there's almost no waste, _except_ , a few amount of energy particles that was not converted into thrust by the thruster. Now, this means an inefficient use of energy, but solar energy is so powerful, not every bit of energy is needed. So, what I'm saying is, the ship that might have taken Jim had left a trail of solar molecules as it departed. These molecules have tendency to stay stationary right where it was spat out from the thrusters of the ship, weirdly. Neither gravity nor even a blow of wind can move it. So, what I'm saying is… I can track these molecules with my system, and lead ourselves to Jim!"

Sarah was about to express her gratitude for the amazing news, but Ben continued. "And an addition to that great news," he turned to the ocean and scanned for the trail, "the trail that I'm seeing right now has no sign of elevation… meaning they haven't gone to outer space."

"Oh, that's the best news ever! Thank you Ben, you're the best!"

The females proceeded to hug the robot. Ben would be lying if he said he didn't find the hug enjoyable.

"You're welcome, Sarah." He placed his robotic arms on her shoulder to gently pull away. "But one problem… transportation."

Sarah placed a finger on her chin. She actually doubted the option she's pondering of at the moment, but no other choice was to help her. To boost some confidence, she turned to Ariel.

"Ari, has Jim ever taught you how to operate a solar-sail based vehicle?"

Within an instance, excitement grew out of her.

* * *

Jim started to hate the feeling of being put into sleep by force. The sleep he'd have wasn't nice at all, and a headache usually accompanied him as he rose from sleep.

At this time, it was no different. He woke up with another stinging pain on his head. To make matter worse, the surface he was sleeping on was the roughest surface he'd ever slept on. The wood he's sleeping on wasn't exactly a one that was polished finely. Trying to ignore the bitters, Jim used the muscles on his arms to get his upper half up. He noticed the small thin blanket covering his lower half, but the environment he's in was… unexpected.

"My, my, look who's awake."

"Oh boy, he's awake!"

A feminine and a masculine voice called from the dark corner of the cramped room. The source of the masculine voice approached the male, making Jim realize who it was. It didn't take long for him to identify the owner of the feminine voice too. However, a deep raspy voice called.

"Jim Hawkins… in the flesh."

It was voice of an old pal. Their companies surprised the boy, but the reveal of the last company shocked him even more.

 **Shorter chapter, but that's enough for this chapter :)**


	8. Chapter 8

**I made a specific illustration on both Sarah's new looks. I was going to make one for the ship where Jim is currently in right now, but I couldn't finish it in time. I can't fit either pictures or links in here, but they're available in the same story in wattpad, and in my deviantart! Do check it out. I'm really dedicated in this fanfiction. I didn't color the illustration, 'cause I still suck at it.  
**

Out of the shadows, the three voices revealed themselves. John Silver, the cunning, Amelia Smollet, the captain, and Delbert Doppler, the astronomer. The looks on their faces weren't exactly the positive ones, but Jim's was certainly one.

Delbert approached the male with a mini flashlight on his hand. "Hold still, Jimmy," he held the boy by the shoulder to check his eye, which made the boy squint.

"Ah… mhm… you're fine. No damage, no nothing." Delbert reported, and sat down again, resting his back against the steel bars.

"You guys… what are you doing here?" Jim asked, but then more questions popped in his head when he realized the place they were in. The trio were imprisoned in a tiny chamber, and he found the same thing on the rim of the entire floor. It was a floor in a ship specifically designed to bring hostages, with nothing but bars to separate the hostages. Other chambers were filled with other hostages as well, but none of them were known by the boy. In the middle of the room, two staircases were found. One led up to the main deck, and one led to the floor underneath the one they're currently in. A loud washing noise was occupying them from outside, meaning they were on the move.

"Apparently, we have made enemies in our lives, but didn't know we did." Silver chuckled once. "Whoever had brought us here, never liked the things we had done."

Jim turned to his ex-captain, expecting an answer. She scoffed as a starter. "I imagine whoever had dragged me here simply has a smolder to try on, and he, or _she_ , thinks it will work on me," she eyed to the professor, "as I'm a married feline."

"Tish tosh," Delbert replied, smiling slightly. When he turned to Jim, he cleared his throat. "I have no idea why I'm here, Jim."

Jim rolled his eyes around, but then they widened. "Don't you two have kids to take care of?!"

"That's why there's an occupation called 'babysitter', Mr. Hawkins." Amelia crossed her arms, "captaining a ship and take it to numerous places is still in my blood, and I believe my husband would say the same thing, wouldn't he? Although, we never imagined that it would be like this."

"Erhm, correct. That's why we decided to go on a week of vacation, leaving the kids with babysitters."

Jim scoffed at the couple. "And now the ship is taking you, without either of you on the wheel."

"Ya sittin' here with us, Jimbo," Silver retorted, taking off his hat. "What makes ya think you're in a better condition than us, eh?"

Jim groaned in annoyance, accepting his current faith. "Just when I wanted a nice sleep, some guy put a chloroform on my face and took me."

The young boy scanned his surroundings. With the dim lighting, he could see some other prisoners, who didn't necessarily look like prisoners that people would think whenever they think of the word. There was a mix between humans and aliens, varying in forms and size and height.

"Who are these people?" Jim questioned.

"They're my crew," Amelia answered. "Bloody sodding pirates attacked our ship under our radar. We've been taken as hostages, but then again, why, you may ask." The feline shoved her arms together, obviously feeling cold. By instinct, her husband brought her closer to his side.

"We'll never know."

"How long have you all been here?" The boy stood up to see the small round window provided on the wall. He tested the thickness of the glass, and it was proven to be too hard to break. He noticed one thing, the view.

"Me? Several days, I lost count," Silver sighed.

"As for us, um… same. We lost count as well," Delbert responded.

"Thanks to the food they serve to us, which they might've dropped to the ground before being served." Amelia complained, heating herself mentally was the only thing she could do to for now, she thought.

"Hey, we haven't left the planet, though. You guys noticed this?" Jim spoke, pointing at the window.

"Yes, we're only in the middle of the ocean. _Joy_ ," Amelia kicked the bar in front of her.

The young boy noticed the amount of sarcasm and complains he'd heard being spat out from the feline's mouth. To keep the optimism running, he decided to look for options. Options that may get everyone out of their cells. It wasn't long until he found one, very much near to him.

"Silver?! Your arm! Can you use it to break the bars?!"

"Nu-uh, Jimbo. Tis crippled," he raised his cybernetic arm. "They rigged it to make sure I won't be able to use it."

"Right…"

The boy tested the bars to see its endurance by shaking it, but it never shook. His mind proposed yet another plan, which would involve teamwork.

"How about we simply push the bars off! Together! All of us!"

"We tried that as well, Jim," Amelia sighed. "Countless times, until Delbert bruised his own shoulder, that's when we stopped."

One after another, Jim proposed a plan, but then either of the three would always propose about the obstacles that they wouldn't be able to overcome. As he kept having his plan rejected, his level of optimism lowered too. Soon, he reached that thin line between the feeling of optimism and desperation. However, this was Hawkins.

He slammed his fists on the cell bars, which sent shock on the three's spines.

"Hawkins! Get a grip, son!" Amelia commanded, trying to reach him while still sitting down. But when she almost reached him, something else happened.

The washing noise produced by the thrusters of the ship lowered down, until there was nothing to hear except the gentle sound of the ocean beneath them. The ship had stopped.

Delbert looked up to hear more clearly. "I mean, if that powerful punch of yours did that, I wouldn't complain."

Footsteps were heard, descending from the staircase that connected the deck and the room they're in. Two men, dressed in clothing pirates would usually wear, appeared. They shot a glare when they noticed the newest addition of the cell had woken up. Jim thought they were going to have a conversation or two, but they continued stepping down the staircase to the lower level of the ship.

"Where are they goin', eh?" Silver asked.

Soon, his answer came up. From the lower floor, they heard an engine that was brought to life, and a sound of a washing solar thruster being used.

"The lower level is the level for the ship's secondary solar boat," Delbert stated. "They're gone to somewhere, scouting ahead, most likely."

Seeing no more plan to think of, Jim grudgingly sat down, shoving his back against the bars in the process. He palmed his hands and saved them in his pocket, and that's when he noticed the existence of the pendant he had around his neck. He examined the item for a second before flipping it open. The first projection it showed was the last recording session it took, so it displayed the mermaid he once knew.

 _"I guess, say cheese?"_

 _"Cheese?"_

"Oh my… lad, ya been after someone, huh?" Silver gave Jim a push on the shoulder.

"W-Wait, I have no idea who this is!"

"Hah! Mumbo jumbo, ya speakin'. Who's the lass—" Silver cut himself when he saw something particularly jaw-dropping from the projection. Her tail.

"Goodness gracious… Jim, is that a mermaid? That's a spot in a lifetime!" Delbert stated, "I knew they exist!"

"Jim, who's the lucky lass?" Amelia asked.

"Guys, guys," he shut the pendant. "I have _no_ clue who that was."

"Ah shut the bickering, lad! That was you, telling her to say cheesy cheese!" Silver laughed. "Come on, I'm up for some stories!"

"I…" Jim turned on the projection again, examining the female in question deeper. "I mean, she does seem familiar."

* * *

The serenity above the ocean was flawless. There was nothing interfering anything. The life above the water seemed to be in a tranquility, except there's none. That is, until a solar boat made the water ripple a little by passing by on a ludicrous speed.

"You sure we're still on the correct path?!" Sarah asked, nearly yelling due to the wind they're slicing through.

"Yes! Just keep going straight for the next… ten miles! I only see a straight trail of solar particles up ahead," Ben replied, who was holding onto the boat's nose as a true navigator.

"And how long until we cover ten miles with this speed, exactly?!"

"Within the next… ten minutes!" Ben turned around. "So, a nice cruise up ahead."

"Right…" Sarah twisted a certain lock on the control sticks she was grabbing, which tightened the joints, allowing her to take her hands off without lowering down the power on the thruster.

Here they were, the rescue team, gliding on a solar boat that never saw the outer world for years. The Hawkins have always had this boat in their inn, but they never stumbled upon the need to use it. So, it faced years of isolation in the garage, until, Jim was kidnapped.

Ariel seemed to be the passenger who was enjoying the flight to the fullest. She never knew the sensation of speed would be so addicting. The fastest animals she'd ever seen to go on a speed this fast was sword fish, which, back in her kingdom, was not really the common species to see. And this moment certainly toppled her other experiences involving speed. She grew addicted to the sensation. The wind in her hair, everything moving in a quick phase (even though there was only the water to see), the unknown ahead of them, each of these made her fall in love with the world up above already.

"Enjoying the journey, so far?" Sarah asked the girl.

"Are you kidding me?" Ariel laughed. "This is the best day ever!"

"Let's not forget the fact that we don't have much time to find Jim before it turns into the worst day ever, Ariel." Sebastian reminded, and she didn't seem to be pleased in hearing it.

"Thanks for reminding," she crossed her arms.

Morph noticed the annoyance the crab had caused. Feeling annoyed too, he formed himself into another Sebastian.

"You're welcome," Morph said in his squeaky voice, imitating the crab.

"Shut up, will you?" Sebastian turned around.

In the meantime, Ben had nothing else to do. Engaging a conversation was the best option he had, so he decided to bring up the attire Sarah was in. The woman who had always worn dresses in her life was now wearing something different, something that would at least give more mobility, since she was jumping into a rescue mission. On top, she had a dark brown leather jacket, very much styled to be as close as the ones that pilots would wear, a red scarf wrapped around her neck, and a pair of gloves. On the bottom, she had a light brown trouser, with a pistol satchel strapped onto her right thigh, of course, with a pistol blaster in it.

"I never thought I'd see you wearing something else, Sarah," Ben raised a thumb.

She simply smiled. "You like it?"

"I like anything adventurous, out-going, and in a need to be navigated by me, and I see everything in your attire," Ben gestured to her appearance.

"Hmph. He gave me this,"

"He who, Sarah?" Ariel turned to her.

"Jim's father. He thought we would be able to go exploring together, but that never happened. Therefore, the day where I wore this thing never came too." Sarah ran her fingers across the sleeve of her jacket. Even with the age of it, smoothness was still felt.

"Ariel," Sarah called, "I think it's time for us to think about your plan."

The fellow gulped. "O-Okay."

"Ben, is it possible for a person to retrieve his memory back?" Sarah asked.

"Statistically speaking, we're talking about a very tiny number. However, that is, if the person simply resumes his life 'normally'. So, therefore, there'd be lots of familiar things that could trigger his brain to remember. But with our limited time, another concussion is probably needed." Ben shrugged, unsure of his own answer.

"So you're saying we hit the boy again in the head?" Sebastian narrowed his eyes.

"Mhm. But first, we'll see if Jim can retrieve his memory back by simply," he gestured at Ariel. "Seeing her again. I mean, you specifically did mention that his memory was erased. By. Magic. And magic is out of my knowledge, I have no idea how magic works."

"… I still believe he remembers," Ariel said sternly.

Sarah placed a hand on her shoulder. "What makes you so sure, dearie?"

"I just do," she frowned a little. "Like I said, he just needs a little kick. That's all."

Her optimism earned herself a salute from the woman once again. Firming her hold on her, Sarah twitched a smile to form a smile, until something came from the opposite direction of where they were headed in a blinding speed.

The speed of the unknown object made their solar boat wobble from left to right. With no control, all of the passengers fell into the boat. When they recovered themselves, Morph transformed into a binocular, and placed himself in Sarah's grip. The unidentified object was a mere dot on the horizon, so she used Morph instantly to see the object.

"It's a… boat, heading that way," she pointed, putting Morph away. But then, when she caught a weird movement of the object, she used the binocular again.

"It's heading this way now!" Sarah exclaimed.

"It's what?" Ariel asked, rubbing her bruised cheek.

"I said, it's heading this way! It's chasing us!" With rush, she put Morph away to grab the rifle blaster in the boat. She gave the pistol blaster from her satchel to Ariel to have more fire power.

"Remember my quick lesson, Ari?" She reminded.

"That was barely any lesson!" Sebastian retorted from the bottom of the boat, hiding.

"Speak for yourself, crab! Don't fall into the water, no one will notice!" She warned before standing up to see the unwelcomed guest. It was a mere dot in the horizon, but it expanded in size. In the middle of its way, the hostile fired a shot from behind. Sarah saw this coming, so she pulled both Ben and Ariel to duck.

They missed.

"That's our signal," she turned to Ariel. "Keep your head down, and pull the trigger once you have a clear shot, okay?"

Seriousness filled the girl. "Okay!"

Before they could even set into position, another shot of plasma laser was fired from the other boat. Soon, the crossfire initiated. With a ludicrous speed they're going, a simple aim was not enough. Estimating had to be performed well if they wanted their shot not to miss. However, both Sarah and Ariel kept finding their shots missing. To make life harder, the enemy maneuvered in zig-zag.

"Darned useless…" Sarah cursed behind a cover, before peeking out to shoot again. With an eye widely opened, she aimed the pointy iron sight of her rifle to the person sitting on the hostile boat. Even with their gap closing and closing, whatever shooting them from that boat was not getting easier to aim at. However, she kept trying, nonetheless, until one of her shot hit the enemy's sail.

Sarah opened her remaining eye, face expressing a new idea.

"Ariel, shoot at the sails!"

She raised a brow. "W-Why?"

"Just do it!" Sarah flipped her body to set herself on the driver's position, and retracted their own sails down. Power was down because of that action, obviously. But she didn't turn down the thrusters under the boat, helping it float. Done with that, she returned to her cover, only to find out Ariel was doing quite the job when she saw the holes on the enemy's sail.

"Good work, Ariel!" She joined the crossfire again. With the sail being the biggest object, they managed to deal a severe damage on the enemy's boat, until it slowed down, a torrent of water swallowing it once it touched the water.

"Yes!" Sarah cheered, placing herself on the driver's position again. "Oh… I never thought that would be so… exciting, huh?" She deployed the sails once again and turned to Ariel, who was wincing in pain. Sarah was quickly alarmed, and checked the girl for the source of the pain she was suffering.

"Were you hit?" She asked. The girl bobbed slowly, and she took off her hand which was covering her waist area. There was a burn mark on it. Sarah took a little gasp at the horrifying sight.

"Oh no," Ben spoke.

"What? What happened?" Sebastian hopped from the floor of the boat to Ariel's lap. "Oh no, Ariel, that can't be good."

Everyone was obviously concerned, but it wasn't what Ariel wanted. She gently fixed her position before waving it off. "Ah… it's fine. I've experienced worse."

The mother figure carefully examined the wound. The part of the dress that covered the area where she was hit was burned off, with nothing remaining but a burnt cloth, which immediately crumbled down Sarah touched it. The shot had apparently left a red mark on her delicate skin, and it sent a sting when Sarah touched it with a finger.

"It's… really fine, guys. Think of it as a memory," Ariel shrugged.

"You really do not want us to worry over you, do you?" Sarah's eyes met with hers.

"I appreciate all of you doing that, but, agh!—" she hissed.

"Ariel, I can find a way to heal you in my database, just give me a minute—"

"No, Ben," she pointed forward, and everyone looked to that direction. It shocked them to see the amount of miles they've covered within the past minutes when they saw that tiny speck on the sky just below the clouds. It was a ship.

"We haven't got much time," Ariel said, one eye shut, enduring the pain.

Virtually, Ben scanned for the trail of solar particles. A trail of solar particle was right above them, and it stopped right at the tail of that ship. "That's the ship that has Jim in it."

"Sarah! Lower the altitude, we need to stay under their radar!" Ben commanded, and Sarah did right as was told. She lowered their altitude, until there was only a couple of inches between the boat and the water beneath. It didn't take long for the squad to realize that the hull of the ship had an opening, a door, specifically designed to deploy a secondary solar boat.

"Am I just imagining or is there an… opening on the hull of that ship?" Sebastian asked the experts around.

"That scout boat must've come from this exact ship," Sarah concluded. "That's good news for us. When we ascend to reach the ship, we won't be considered as a hostile in their eyes." A smile of proudness formed on her face.

"I would recommend ascending vertically, and I _mean_ vertically, to avoid visual contact. They wouldn't be happy to see an adult woman, a girl, and a robot in a solar boat infiltrating their ship," Ben explained. "So we stop right below the ship, and we ascend slowly."

"Aye Aye, captain," Sarah answered.

Once reaching right at the point where the ship was above their heads, Sarah shut down the engine and transmitted the power only on the thrusters on the hull of the boat. Slowly but surely, they were ascending.

"Right… we find Jim, grab him, and leave," Sarah explained.

Hearing the very simple plan, Ariel was unsure of a great chance of success. "I don't think it will be that—ugh!" She winced, "easy."

"What if things go south?" Ben crossed his arms.

"We… go south as well, I suppose," Sarah gestured to her weapons.

The ship they were ascending to was getting closer and closer each second. With ease, their boat entered the opening. Initiated by instinct, Sarah took one of the ropes functioned to hang the boat right away. Seeing this, Ben did the same on the other side, until it was safe to kill the engine.

 _Leave the hull open. We need to get out as fast as we can once we have Jim,'_ Sarah commanded after leaping onto the metal floor provided in the tiniest voice possible. She helped Ariel afterwards and Ben. The only members left were Sebastian and Morph.

 _'Seb, you coming?'_

 _'I will uh… stay here, I think'_ Sebastian replied. _'I won't be much of a good help.'_

 _'Fine. Morph, come here,'_ Sarah gestured, so the alien did as told. _'Turn yourself into anything useful when you can, okay?'_ Smiling, she tickled the alien a little. In response, he replied "yes ma'am" is his squeaky voice.

With everyone ready, Sarah slowly led everyone slowly, cheek planted onto the base of the stock and both eyes opened for maximum area coverage. As soundless as possible, she carefully looked at her steps while heading to the stairs up ahead. Ariel and Ben tried to mimic the woman's movement as much as they could.

They stopped at the base of the stairs, as it was signaled by Sarah. Being in charge of the small pack, she advanced forward on the staircase to scan the surroundings of the next floor first. Slowly, she looked at every angle she could, but the blinding light above her that came from the upper deck didn't help much. So, to peek thoroughly, she had to pop her head out. Darkness was seen, with small windows around the room she was scanning providing dim lighting.

She gasped slightly to see so much figures in a room, and seeing them behind bars didn't help much either, although this must be the room she was after.

 _'Jim must be here…'_

She gestured both Ariel and Ben to come up when she's reached the floor. Her presence wasn't really noticed by the people around her, as they might think it was the same person who just left the ship minutes ago. But one started to question when she saw an oddity.

"Who are you?"

A feminine voice called from a direction in the room. Hearing this, and actually _recognizing_ this voice, Sarah approached the source of the voice.

"A-Amelia?!" She breathed a gasp. "D-Delbert?!"

"Oh my, Sarah, looking dashing," Amelia complimented her attire.

"S-Sarah! Get us out of here!" Delbert pleaded, trying to reach her from the bars. When Ariel saw the woman speaking with some other people she didn't know, she walked over to her to find out. But, it didn't take long for her to spot the love of her life, sleeping next to a large man who happened to be asleep as well.

"J-Jim!" Ariel breathed his name.

Amelia turned to the girl, and mouthed an 'oh'. "Jim, your girlfriend is here," she kicked the boy before accepting Sarah's rifle. Having more knowledge in weapons, Amelia switched the rifle's mode into welding mode. She used it to melt the lock, and within seconds, it was already in a weak state, allowing her to barge out with a powerful kick.

"Finally! Freedom!" Amelia exclaimed.

"Amelia, what are you doing here? Why are you here?" Sarah asked, still very much puzzled with the additional members. Hearing her, she chuckled before the other prisoners were starting to realize the fact that their captain was no longer behind bars. They started pleading for freedom that they could give, making Amelia have to raise her volume.

"These are my crew, Sarah. Pirates raided us, and took us in. Weird action, but I'm no complainer. You happen to see any weaponry?"

"I think I see some downstairs… why?"

"Why? We're going to kick some arses, that's why, Sarah!" She laughed a little, before pointing at a lock of a cell and shooting it, which sent shock to everyone in the room. But it also broke the lock, allowing the men inside it to go out. They cheered happily. Sarah's jaw dropped when she did that.

"Be alive for once in your life, will you, Hawkins?" She pressed the woman's shoulder. "The moment when you feel really alive is when you're _that_ close with death," Amelia raised an arm and pressed her thumb with her index finger to show the amount of 'gap' that existed between those fingers to Sarah.

"T-That's the worst advice I've ever heard in my entire life, Smollet!" She replied with hesitance.

"Very well! I'm not forcing you, it's up to you."

Amelia walked past Sarah to free the others, who was arguing with herself of whether she should jump into the unplanned combat or not. She knew with the sound Amelia's crew was producing right now, someone was going to check from the main deck. She turned around to see Ben, already posing poses with a rifle that he'd received from Amelia.

Meanwhile, Ariel knelt down in front of a sleeping Jim Hawkins. His appearance brought a touch of joy onto his heart. The large man next to him was who she thought was Silver, the closest person to a proper father figure in Jim's life. The closeness between the two warmed her heart, but she had to wake him up right now. Sure, she got hours, but efficiency had to be applied.

"Jim…" she shook his leg. "Wake up."

"Mmm…"

"Jim, please, wake up."

The voice soon woke him up. His eyes were slowly peeling open, and they only saw a blurry picture with a red tint on it. To gain vision, he scrunched his eyes. Those gray-blue eyes immediately widened when she welcomed him.

"Hey…" Ariel smiled.

"Ah…" Jim turned to his left, seeing pretty much everyone was free. "Huh? Why's everyone out? How? Wait, mom?!"

"Your mother, Ben, and I came to rescue you," she smiled warmly.

"A-And… who are you exactly?"

Her heart dropped to hear the sentence, but she endured it. "My name is Ariel, we've met before," her voice started to sound desperate, even with her best effort to cover it. "We're great friends!"

"I'm not sure if you—"

"Ah… the lass in the flesh, I see,"

It turned out that Silver had woken up in silence. The two were trapped in their own world, that they didn't notice the cyborg who had woken up.

"Ah, and we're free too! Mind me not, son," he patted the boy on the shoulder as he stood up. "I've got a battle to attend, but do use your time, lad."

With that, he walked out of the cell. Ariel was fascinated by the accent he was speaking, but she trapped herself to the objective first. With haste, she grabbed Jim's pendant and flipped it open, and it surprised her a little to see her recording opened first. However, opening the pendant meant she had to lean in closer to the boy. She didn't mind the close gap, but the boy was certainly feeling 'hotter' in the cell.

"That's me! Don't you remember?"

 _"I guess, say cheese?"_

 _"Cheese?"_

"I can see t-that is you miss," Jim fixed his position to have a little more gap between him and the mysterious girl. "But I don't see you… in my memory."

"LADS! LISTEN UP!" Amelia called, and the two's attentions turned to her. She was surrounded by her crew already, each of them possessing a weapon to shoot. "WE'RE GOING TO HAVE A SWEET PAYBACK BY TAKING THIS SHIP OVER! Although, if you can, please do not make their blood spill onto the floor, bloods are hard to clean. But I'll tell you what I'd like to see! Their bloody arse floating on the ocean where our ship ended up! LET'S GO!"

With that being exclaimed, Amelia charged towards the main deck, and the sound of a typical onboard combat took place. Jim felt an urge to join the battle, but the girl in front of him seemed to be not allowing him.

"Miss, I need to—"

 _"My name is Ariel,"_ She cut sharply.

"A-Ariel! I need to go out there! My mother is out there, joining too! I must look after her!"

"N-No, you don't understand," she took a grip on his biceps, tears starting to form on her eyes. "I _need_ you, Jim."

"And why do you need me, exactly?"

"I… uh… I made a deal with someone, so I could become like you. A human." She replied with stutters with a tiny hope that he'd understand. "In the deal, I have to… I have to kiss you, _my true love_ , before sunset. Or else, my soul will be kept in prison forever. Please, Jim, I've known you for long enough to realize that you... stole my heart. I just hope that…" she touched his chest. "You'd share the same feelings as well," she smiled endearingly.

He was clearly touched, knowing that he's special in her eyes. "A-Ariel… I really appreciate that, but still—"

"GAH!"

A loud crashing noise was heard from his left. When he turned, he saw Silver being pinned down by an alien near the staircase, who was ready to land a blow on Silver's head with the stock of his rifle. By reflex, he pulled the gun that Ariel possessed, and shot the Alien right on the rifle, cancelling his action. Silver saw this opportunity, and landed a punch hard enough to put his enemy into sleep.

"Thanks Jimbo, though I'd appreciate it if you can… resume your romantic life later on," Silver advised before walking back up to the main deck where the real battle was.

"Ariel, that's my cue. I really need to go," he stood up.

"No, no, no, please!"

He ignored the girl and ran out of the cell. When she tried to reach him, the pain near on her wound prevented her. Judging from her state, she was clearly in a bad shape. She was alone, but was she?

She broke into tears, but her eyes opened to a squeaky voice she was fond of.

Morph.

He transformed himself into a patch when he attached himself onto the wound she had. In a way, he dropped his own his temperature, giving a cool sensation on Ariel's wound.

"Strongy strong, Ariel," Morph reminded.

A smile of gratitude curled on her lips. "T-Thank you Morph."

Every fibre of her being shook in fire, she was joining the battle. She had to make sure the love of her life survive the battle, after all.


	9. Chapter 9

**Right, about the ship illustration… never mind that, it didn't take long for me to realize that I suck at drawing ships.**

The feline figure punched here and there, landed shots up and down, and evaded any incoming attack forward and backward. Amelia was a master class in the situation, whilst the others were trying to imitate her, or to survive, at the very least.

Her slender arm supported her weight on the floor as she arched her back, evading a swing of arm. In the end, she felt two hands catching her by the shoulders, which pushed her back right up. It was Jim!

"Hawkins! Reach for the wheel! Head this ship downwards! Reduce our altitude by half!" She commanded. Even in the middle of the chaotic fight, Jim managed to hear the command and nodded.

"Aye Aye, captain!"

In an instance, he rushed towards the wheel of the ship. Using his bare foot, he kicked some men and aliens in his way to make his way down. But, something stopped him. Jim stopped at a scene involving his mother, Ben, and a bulky alien with four arms. Both allies were pinned down by the monstrous alien, with its ugly face inching towards Sarah's, which was completely the opposite.

Jim reached for his gun, and shot the alien on the back. Little did he know, the shot landed on an armored part of the back, resulting the laser to bounce upwards.

"Hrmph?!" The alien turned to Jim. "You dimwit!"

Charging towards the male with wide steps, Jim saw his opportunity. He charged towards the alien as well, and slid under its steps, and landed a punch where the sun never shone.

"OOF—"

"Oh man, I barely felt anything there," Jim mocked, helping his mother and Ben stand back on their feet. With a dab, he cleaned her attire from the dusts of the battle. He then realized her unusual attire.

"Mom, you look great!" Jim complimented, seemingly not caring about the battle around him.

"Save it for later," she was about to cock her rifle until she noticed something crucial. "Wait, Jim! Have you talked to Ariel?!"

He let out a groan. "Save _that_ for later," he took a firm grip on her rifle and cocked it, making it ready for the next shots.

"But Jim! It's really important!"

The boy cared none, instead, he dashed through the crowd towards the captain's quarter. His mother planted a hand on her forehead, she knew this was going to be hard.

"Ben, make sure my son gets out of this alive," Sarah commanded. "The least important person on this deck is me, so make sure, especially my son and Ariel, make out of this alive."

Ben noticed the not-so deliberate pun, but he knew this was not the time to point it out. "Aye aye, Sarah!"

The robot 'motored' his way to Jim's direction, and soon already finding himself in a problem when two men wielding swords were blocking his way.

"You wanna fight, lads? Go ahead!"

On the captain's quarter, where the steering wheel of the ship lied, a fight between Amelia's crew and who seemed to be a man as large as mountains was taking place. He had dark blue skin, and half of his muscular body was exposed, as he was only wearing a pair of trousers. Amelia's men were circling the mountain-like man with rifles. They thought they had the advantage with fire power, but before they could even pull their triggers, the gigantic man grabbed collected their rifles in a blinding speed, and bended the end of them with a muscle.

"I can do the same to your bones, gentlemen," the man said in a deep, raspy voice. He then proceeded to use the crooked rifles to knock out every single man circling him with a single swing. Jim spectated in shock, he was clearly no match for the enemy in front of him.

"Oh, you're next?" The man spotted the boy. He soon walked towards him, and in desperate, Jim tried to find a solution for this situation. After coming up with one, Jim charged towards the man, his hand ready on his pistol. In the middle of the track on a certain speed, he slid himself, aiming for the space between the man's legs. It was the same trick he did previously, but little did he know, it wasn't going to work as he'd imagined. The man caught Jim by the head before he could even slide under him. The man gave an intense pressure on his head, and Jim screamed on the top of his lungs as response. Even in the middle of his pain, Jim tried to point his laser pistol to his enemy, but he knocked it away with a mere flick of a finger.

"Playing games, huh? I must say… I'm terrible at games," the man added more pressure, and Jim's skull was on the edge of breaking point. But soon, the breaking point was away as the man threw the boy into a group of barrels. His back was the first part that received contact when he hit the barrels.

"You really think you can beat me, heh?" The man said, cracking his fingers. He took steps forward to the boy, but several steps away from him when he felt pain on his back. Pain that was accompanied with a sensation of heat, which could only mean one thing, laser shots.

Ariel turned out to be the shooter. She kept shooting at the man with her rifle until she had to cock the rifle for the next shots, and it wasn't something that she had mastered yet. The man was consumed with fury as he found out that a mere girl was causing harm to him, that he decided to go after her first. Jim saw this, and reacted immediately. He stood back on his feet, even with the pain he was suffering. Almost aimlessly, he jumped on the man's back, and locked the man's neck with his arms.

Jim applied as much force as he could, but it was never enough. The man simply freed himself by pulling the boy's arms, and lifted him on the air. He smiled dirtily, until it was dirtied more with a kick from the boy on his face.

"Gah!"

Jim's feet met the floor once again. With not many times left, he took the rifle Ariel had and cocked it. He aimed for the man's head with his wobbly muscles, and pulled the trigger. His shot landed on the man's neck instead!

The shot made the man collapse. His hand desperately attempted to cease the blood from flowing, but the severe wound that the shot left was too much.

"You brat…"

And that was the man's last words. Seeing his obstacle cleared, Jim turned around to thank the girl who'd helped him. Her expression halted him. She was petrified. Ariel had never seen such a blood bath in her life, and it left her even more terrified that she just helped Jim take a one's life away.

"You're… okay there?" Jim asked.

Ariel rolled her eyes up to see the boy. She shook her head, "I-I'm not sure…"

He soon realized her problem. Jim grasped the girl on the shoulder. "You saved me, and I thank you for that. _He_ could've killed me, and I don't think you'd want that."

She shook her head even more rapidly at the statement. "I wouldn't want that."

"Right, help me a bit, will you?"

The boy approached the wheel of the ship and manned it. On his right, there was a lever that adjusted the amount of power the thrusters would provide. On its right, another lever was there, which controlled the altitude of the ship. Clearly, he needed one more hand.

"Right, Ari, I need you to listen to me very carefully," Jim said. "I need you to grab this lever, and gently…"

As he explained more and more about what she had to do, she wasn't particularly paying attention to his explanation. It was all because of one thing, which was the fact that he called her 'Ari', her nickname. Her eyes were locked onto Jim's, her mouth was agape, her brain was hinting her that he might remember. She was very much on another realm.

"Right, do you understand?" Jim asked

She snapped back into reality. "You _do_ remember me!"

He cocked a brow. "What?"

"You just called me Ari!"

His eyes widened in disbelief. "Are you kidding me?! Right now?! Have you been listening to me in the whole time?"

"Oh, how hard can it be?" She placed her hand on the lever which controlled the thrusters, and pushed it. Jim didn't have time to react, and was thrown back a little after the thrusters of the ship thunderously moved the ship forward. The ludicrous acceleration made every single living being onboard fall onto the floor, ceasing the fight for a few moments.

With every bit of his power, Jim stood back on his feet and reached the lever. He minimalized the amount of power flowing, which slowed down the ship right away, and reduced the altitude with the other lever, and manned the wheel.

"Ah, I can do it by myself, after all," Jim smiled proudly before turning around to the female. As gently as possible, he helped her stand back up.

"Right, Ari, I need you to listen to me," he grasped her forearms. "I'm sure that… you're facing a great problem right now. What's the deadline again, sunset?" Jim looked up to see where the sun was, and it was on the western sky, inching into the horizon slowly. "I really want to help, but… I can't. I just don't happen to have the—"

"No, Jim, we've been friends, _great_ friends, your mother knows, even Ben!" She gripped his sleeves. "There must be something that can trigger your brain to—"

The wooden floor under them suddenly cracked, and its sound was so loud, it put the conversation into a stop. The crack spread between the boy and the girl, until it led to the empty space right next to them, where the remaining unconscious Amelia's men were lied on. The crack spread and spread, and a hole was made. Amelia's men fell into it, and one figure created an entrance out of it.

A man, dressed in a black cloak. His face hid under his pirate hat, except for one shining object, which turned out to be his left eye. A mechanical whirring was heard as he pulled out his arm. Jim gasped at the sight. It was a robotic arm. His other robotic features were soon revealed. Prosthetic leg, a hook on his other hand, and the most surprising, his head that featured a prosthetic lower jaw and a robotic eye.

When he looked up to the two, it surprised him a little to see such an unusual pair of people raiding his ship. But, he was more intrigued to Jim.

"Hawkins… you must be the Hawkins," the man said through a speaker planted at the base of his throat, his mouth flashing orange as he spoke.

"What do you want from me?!"

"Well, _he_ misses you, perhaps? But I can't tell for sure," he pulled the sleeve on his humanoid arm. "Perhaps there's more under his sleeve, but one thing is sure, all of you have been disturbing my rest."

A mechanical whirring was heard from his feet, which was readying torque for a rapid move forward. In a speed that Jim and Ariel could barely anticipate, the man tried to reach for the two's heads with his arms. The two ducked in unison, and rolled away from the threat. Again, having more interest in the boy, the cyborg landed a blow towards him, but landed it on the wooden floor instead, which shattered right away. His power was beyond his league, and Jim learnt that at this moment. So, to brawl the man, he tried to shoot for the mechanical arm first with a hope that his shots would disable it. He pointed his rifle at the cyborg's arm while kneeling, and shot it. Even with the speed of a laser projectile, the cyborg turned his arm into an armored plate acting as a shield.

"I suppose he'd prefer you asleep when I bring you to him," the cyborg transformed the shield into his arm back, and grabbed the boy by the shirt. He landed a punch on his cheek, and threw him onto a mast on the center of the ship. When he landed, he was still conscious, barely. He knew this was not the time to be defenseless, so he fought for it.

"JIM!" Ariel yelled. Filled with worry, she made her way down to her beloved cabin boy.

The sight that he'd never seen left the cyborg speechless for a moment when he saw what's happening on the main deck. Every single of his crew was circled by the crew that belonged to Amelia. They were outnumbered, with no hint of where the rest of the crew were at. Being the captain onboard, weakness disgusted him as he found out that his crew were surrendering. They were kneeling, head facing down, signing nothing but defeat.

Amelia, who was pointing her weapon to the men in front of her, noticed the cyborg's presence. She turned around.

"You must be the captain!" Amelia exclaimed. Her exclamation caught the cyborg's attention. "Very odd of you to not see the prisoners that you've kept for _days_."

"I needn't to look, I'd already know how they'd look like," he replied in a very humble tone.

"Shut your bickerin' lad, me eyes know a bickerer when they see one!" Silver threatened with a rifle pointed right at the cyborg. The captain noticed his presence, and mouthed an 'ooo' in awe.

"Ah, free parts," He spoke.

"Parts?" Silver asked. "Ya really think you can lay a finger on me parts, lad? Surrender now! Be smarter like your crew!" He gestured to men and aliens behind him. Every single gun was pointed at him. With the remaining of his humanoid muscle, he smirked under his hat.

The cyborg soon lifted his cyborg arm, which was already in a shape of a large plasma blaster. He pointed not to Amelia, nor Delbert, who was stood behind her, nor Jim, who was under the care of Ariel, nor even Amelia's crew. But he pointed his blaster to his true enemy in his eyes; his own crew.

The cyborg blasted a large ball of plasma, and when it struck his target, a purple light blinded every single eye onboard. Its blast radius covered every of his crew. Once the light subsided, they later found out that his crew had disintegrated into nothing.

Neither of anyone onboard had any idea what the captain of the ship was thinking of. Although, it was a simple principle of his; to fight or to die with honor, no third option.

The captain pulled a lever on his blaster, and the inner parts of his arm was exposed, letting out steam in the process. Once cooled down, he let go of the lever, and returned his arm back to its normal form.

"Please," he bowed down, stepping down on the steps to the main deck. "Entertain me lads."

Feeling disgusted, Amelia stood back on her feet, and raised an arm at his direction. "ATTACK!"

Hearing the command, Amelia's crew charged towards him. Some tried to shoot at him, but every single shot that was shot at him was blocked with his cybernetic arm. Once a man or even two trespassed his space, the captain used his skills in close combat to prevent any single swing of arm from reaching him. He was a man who knew what he was doing. Not one living being managed to even hurt him at the very slightest. Flawless would be the word to describe the punches and kicks and cuts he'd delivered at Amelia's crew.

There were only several men left, and the cyborg captain took his time. He waited for them to charge into him mindlessly. The rest of the available men were too feared to even inch forward, seeing the pile of possibly soulless bodies around him and the ones in the sea didn't help much.

"Two things that I'm noticing right now," he said. "One, you reflect my crew. _Too scared_ to dare. Two, a pussy move!" He exclaimed the last part, "to send your crew ahead, without you charging in as well—"

His sentence was cut when Amelia dropped onto him from the nets above him without noticing. Her legs wrapped the man's neck and choked it, and to worsen the suffering, she elbowed him on the head multiple times.

"Pussy move, you said?" She elbowed him again, "Delbert! Now!"

"O-Okay!" Delbert responded. He aimed his rifle onto the captain, and shot multiple times. The shots successfully landed on the target, and they weakened the cyborg severely. And it wasn't going to end there, as Silver stepped forward. He grabbed the captain on the collar as Amelia hopped off. With a strong swing, Silver threw the man a punch, and another one, and Amelia joined in. However, when they thought they were winning, the captain held both Amelia's and Silver's fists in unison. He twisted them, and it made Amelia spin horizontally since she had the cybernetic arm holding him. As for Silver, it gave him a tremendous pain on his wrist.

" _GAH!"_ Silver winced in pain.

"Free parts," he whispered, and took a strong grip on Silver's cybernetic arm, and ripped it off.

 _ARGH!"_ Silver screamed, and collapsed. His prosthetic arm had wirings attached to the host internally, so some wires had a connection with veins and muscle tissues, and having them disconnected with brute force would only result in a severe bleeding. And it was happening, blood was gushing out from his armless shoulder, weakening Silver as time passed.

Both Amelia and Delbert spectated the bloodbath in shock, while the captain in proud, although, he was particularly looking at the 'free parts' that he had just claimed.

" _YOU SICK BASTARD—_ " Amelia charged towards the hostile. The captain stepped backward once, and caught the charging feline by the shoulder. Using the kinetic energy she had developed by running, the captain spun the feline into another direction, and tossed her with a push onto the floor. She violently kissed the wooden floor.

All left onboard was Delbert, who didn't have the guts to fight back. Seeming to be blocking his way, the captain raised Silver's mechanical arm to threaten the doctor. It didn't take long for Delbert to move away.

But then he realized the oddity. There was only Delbert onboard.

His eyes flared in rage. " WHERE'S THE BOY?!"

"Come on, hurry!"

Commanded by Amelia without the cyborg captain knowing, Sarah led Ben, Ariel, and her son back to the secondary boat bay. Jim was still in the process of recollecting himself after the amount of concussions he'd had in the past hour. Almost like a drunken man, he rushed himself down the stairs to reach the lowest level of the ship. Once they reached it, the metal floor the quartet were stepping on didn't help them in keeping a low profile, so the captain heard their loud steps while searching for them on the main deck area.

Sarah led everyone to the boat they just arrived on, and headed to the control panel to open the hull below the boat. With a press of a button, the hull opened ever so slowly.

"Oh god… can't it be any faster?" Sarah complained. She irritatingly started bashing the panel with a fist in impatience, but then her eyes spotted something more important to deal with.

"Sebastian, you still there?" Sarah rushed to the boat to find the crustacean.

Sebastian was observing the boy's looks when she called his name. "Right here, Sarah!" Sebastian answered, who was onboard with the others. His expression turned into a concerned one when he spotted _things_ all over the woman's outfit.

"My Neptune, Sarah, you're—"

"No time for chit-chat, how sharp are your claws?" Sarah asked.

"My claws?" He examined them. "Enough to make an adult male scream on a high note, why?"

"I need you to cut that rope right when I cut this one," Sarah gestured to the rope that tied the right side of the boat and jumped onboard. "Ben, take care of Jim and Ariel."

"Aye Aye," both Sebastian and Ben replied.

"Right, any time now…"

When the hull provided a space wide enough for the wind to fill the room, the wind immediately engulfed Jim. It's a sensation that he had always adored. It's the smell of freedom, and awakening, as he peeled his eyes fully. The first thing he noticed was the stains his mother had on her attire. Not just any stains, they were caused by blood. It made him gasp when he saw a dash of blood on her cheek.

"Mom… you're bleeding," Jim spoke. Sarah looked up, and let out a single chuckle, although it might have not been the most appropriate reaction.

"They're not my blood."

The boy's eyes widened. The tense moment was interrupted by the appearance of Morph, who happened to be next to him. With its squeaky voice, Morph transformed into a mini version of Sarah, and mimicked her fighting against pirates.

"I simply did what had to be done," she said, taking over the control of the ship. When she was in her spot, loud steps were heard from the staircase. Of course, it was the captain himself. Jim noticed the threat, and pushed his mom away from the control. "Let me, mom."

He turned on every essential needed for the flight, and the rope securing the boat was the only one left. He noticed a crab sitting right on the edge of the boat, just next to the rope.

"Do you talk?" He asked. The question was an odd one for Sebastian.

"Yes, why?"

Jim wanted to consumed that first, but with the limited time, he didn't.

"Cut the rope!"

"But the hull is not fully opened yet!" He gestured to the hull below them which was only half opened.

"Just do it!"

"… Right away!"

With that, the crab cut the rope, and Ben did the one on the other side simultaneously. The captain attempted to reach the boat, but he didn't make it. He watched he boat fall, being pulled by gravity, and its front half knocked the hull lid, making it to fall with the back of the boat facing down.

In mid-air, Jim looked behind to see how fast he was reaching the water. What he spotted was a mess; some men, belonging to the evil captain and Amelia herself, desperately trying to stay on the surface. But there was nothing he could do, even with the sudden build of empathy that came out of nowhere. When they were close enough, Jim retracted the sails, which instantly powered the vertical thrusters. They floated in silence on the serene scenery, which wasn't necessarily filled with the nicest objects to look at.

"Are we running away right now?" Jim asked the others.

"Yes, we are. Amelia told me to do that, let's go!" Sarah replied.

"Oh, come on! That captain wanted me for a reason, and have we uncovered that yet?!" Jim complained. "Besides, we just need some more…"

Jim proceeded to complain more, with everyone listening. Sarah would love to argue with his idea of going back to fight, but two things stopped her. The sunset was on its way to an end, and she heard a thruster being turned alive above her.

It was the cyborg captain, descending fast.

"JIM! GO! GO!" She pointed upwards, and Jim saw the change of situation. Seeing it, he pushed the levers on his left and right, accelerating the boat away. With the sudden departure, the cyborg captain had to match his speed with his target, and match his course with his target. He lifted the nose upwards to gain altitude from the descending maneuver that he was performing to chase his target. His target was flying on a low altitude, compared to his higher one. So, using the advantage, he stood on his feet on the moving boat with a rifle. The captain aimed using his cyborg eye, which was more like a lens than an eye. Its zooming capability gave him a clearer sight. He shot a fire, and it pierced through the sail.

Jim noticed the laser, which almost hit Ariel after it pierced through his sail. The damage reduced the amount of power the thrusters were giving by a tad, but they couldn't afford more. To counter this, Jim gained some altitude with the hope that his boat could shelter his sail. He looked behind to see his enemy's altitude, and attempted to overshoot it. Like an arrow shot upwards, the boat lifted and lifted. The captain noticed the sudden movement, and prevented them from having a higher position by gaining some altitude as well.

One thing that the captain learnt and Jim never did was the fact that Jim's vertical movement made him an easier target to shoot at. So, he took his time to while they ascended on a same speed. He shot, shot, and shot, and landed each shot perfectly on the sail. The shot weakened the boat's power, and the Hawkins found his boat descending eventually.

"No, no, NO!" With frustration, Jim grabbed a rifle and stood on his feet, aiming at the captain's boat. He fired a couple of shots, and almost like the boat had a soul to notice the presences of the incoming laser shots, it evaded each shot seamlessly. Of course, the man behind that was the captain himself.

"Jim! There's no use! I suggest to just run away from him!" Ben advised. Gritting his teeth in anger, Jim nodded down, and headed the boat to a random direction, all for the sake of an escape. Of course, there was no more 'full' power, so their speed was limited, and their altitude reduced each second. With that limitation, they weren't finding themselves escaping. At one point, Jim looked back to see if they were escaping or not, but only to find out the captain's boat was nowhere to be seen.

"Where is he?!" Jim exclaimed. Everyone onboard turned to the boy, and looked up to the direction where he was looking at. They all came up with the same question, where was the captain?

That question was quickly answered when Ariel spotted an incoming boat from the left flank where she was seated. The boat was flying on a speed she could never even anticipate. The captain's grin gave away a hint of what he was about to do.

"Jim! There—"

He rammed his boat against his target's boat from the left. Its contact sent the ex-mermaid flying on the air. Almost like slow-motion, Jim spotted in the corner of his eye a flying Ariel. He saw her body splashing against the water like a stone skipping on the water, which was unquestionably the most frightening view he'd ever seen, with the planet destruction of Treasure Planet being on the second.

Why?

Because he finally remembered!

 _ARIEL!"_

He hopped off into the water, abandoning the boat that was still going straight. His terrible swimming skills were overshadowed by the willingness inside him. Ariel was nowhere to be seen, and with her absence, Jim was swimming aimlessly.

"Ariel?! Ariel!"

He called for her name, and he turned to a distant noise. A red head breached through the surface, coughing out water afterwards. Jim headed straight over to her.

After clearing her throat from water, Ariel spotted the male swimming over to her. Her eyes widened a bit.

"J-Jim? I thought you couldn't swim?!" Ariel said.

"I-I can't explain that either, Ariel," he said quickly. "It's probably because…" He paused, before their hands reached each other's.

"You're okay, right?" He asked, checking her thoroughly.

"Yes, yes. I've been through worse," she replied.

"Anyway, it's probably because… I remember that," he paused for dramatic effect.

"I still have to tell you what cheese is, and why I told you to say so when I recorded you."

At first, she only crooked a brow. But then, it clicked. She gasped deeply as her hands firmly held onto Jim's shoulders, reducing the gap between their faces.

"Y-You remember me, Jim?!"

"I do! Yes—" he cut himself when he noticed a distant sound of a solar thruster. He looked to his right to spot the incoming boat on a very low altitude. A contact with the hull of that boat and it's a bitter goodbye to each other.

The captain stood proudly on the nose of the boat, smiling a smile that's often seen on the faces of psychos.

"DUCKY DUCK, YOU BRATS!" He exclaimed, hovering his cybernetic arm an inch above the water to catch Jim. Seeing this, Ariel quickly pulled Jim into the water to avoid the captain.

When they're underwater, Jim sealed his eyes to keep them out from the seawater. Ariel, clearly, was used to the seawater. She spectated the captain's cybernetic fingers cutting through the water from above the water, and once he was right above the couple, a loud _boom_ was heard.

Later, she found out that his cybernetic arm fell into the water, not attached to the captain's body. It sunk into the depth.

The two surfaced once again, and Jim opened his eyes to see what had just happened within the last five seconds. It dropped his jaw to see the captain's boat was shattered into burning wood pieces.

"What the hell had just happened?" Jim asked, looking around in confusion. Ariel would ask the same.

But then, he spotted the ship far ahead on the crimson sky, with a feline figure manning the laser ball cannon.

"HAHA! IT WAS AMELIA! Thank god!" Jim exclaimed, clapping his hands.

Far ahead on the ship, Amelia smiled with proudness.

"Bullseye," She said. Her husband clapped in celebration.

The boy looked left and right, to see both boats heading to his direction. There was only one appropriate thing to do in the moment.

"Right… Ari, I suppose you need to—whoa"

She pulled his collar, her lips and his only an inch close. They shared a giggle, and closed their eyes as they leaned forward. In this very moment, magical chains suddenly materialized on both Ariel's wrists. Before she could even gasp, the sun was gone, and she was pulled by those chains into the water. The deal was settled, and the girl didn't seem to accomplish it.

 _"ARIEL!"_


	10. Chapter 10

"Right, that's it, there you go! Off you go."

"Thanks a lot, captain. I owe you one."

Amelia patted the man on the shoulder, and proceeded to help the others. Some of her men were still in the water, and it was her responsibility as the captain to retrieve them back into safety. The darkness the night provided was no help, so she had to use a torch to spot her crew in the darkness.

Delbert, on the other hand, as a 'doctor', had another responsibility to take care of. It was John Silver, who's missing an arm. He was lying on the main deck, spectated by some of Amelia's crew. They didn't know what to do. Never had Silver ever thought that this day would come where he'd lose another member of his body part. And there he was, still gushing blood from his arm, with only a piece of cloth to slow it down.

"Coming through, coming through!"

Delbert dug his way in the crowd, carrying Silver's mechanical arm. Silver looked up at the sight he'd been waiting for the past minutes.

"There we go lad, gimme that," he gestured Delbert to give the object to him.

"You sure this will work?" Delbert said hesitantly, placing the arm on Silver's shoulder.

Silver removed the piece of cloth on his armless shoulder, "I'm sure it will, doc... The maker said that-RAGHH!"

Almost like a living being, the arm reattached itself with its old host. The wirings connected with Silver's veins, as well as the artificial muscle tissues with Silver's genuine ones, and with its arm locked onto its host, blood had no way to flow out. It was not the smoothest process in the world, but it lasted for no more than a second.

"Are you okay?!" Delbert asked.

"Huft..." Silver looked at his arm, and moved his fingers. He tried to raise it, but its movement was sluggish. It was a feeling that he had only felt back when he first got this very arm. The feeling of a beginner.

"Heh, it'll take time for me to adapt, but for now," he shook the doctor's hand. "It's enough for a polite handshake," he smiled.

Delbert's eyes bulged in shock, "Oh my, that was... quick."

"He was the best in his field, doc. This," he raised his arm. "Was one of his creations. Luckily, we were pals."

"Right, oh-" Delbert turned to a sound of whirring solar engine. It was Sarah's crew, floating right next to the deck of the ship.

"They're here."

While slowly positioning the boat to be right next to the ship, the gals were arguing over something, which Amelia couldn't comprehend what it was. Everything was over, what was there to argue about?

"Ursey, who?" Jim asked.

"Ursula! She's the Sea Witch, probably the only living being in the sea who can fulfill Ariel's wish other than King Triton," Sebastian replied, who was on the bottom of the boat. So, Amelia couldn't figure out who was speaking as she approached the boat.

"Goddamit Ariel..." Jim cursed, before placing a small anchor on the ship as a connector between the boat and the ship. He stood up and helped the others to hop onboard the ship. Amelia curiously looked over to the boat.

"Who was... talking?"

Sebastian noticed the question, and hopped onto the boat's lips. "That'd be me! The name is Sebastian!"

Her eyes widened in disbelief instantly. "A TALKING CRAB? WHAT IS LIFE?!"

"A talking crab who can compose songs, should I add," Sebastian added. With the help from Ben, the crustacean placed himself on the deck of the ship. With a proud look, he stared at the feline figure.

"Oh my..." Amelia knelt down to get a closer look, and so did some of her crew. They looked at the crustacean in awe, and Sebastian immediately felt like a diva. Amelia stood back on her feet to take it all in, but then she realized an absence.

"Where's the girl?" Amelia asked to Jim, who was still turning off the boat's engine.

"That's our new problem at the moment," he said.

In the life underwater, Ursula was admiring her new possession, the daughter of King Triton herself, Ariel. She was chained on both of her hands, with the chains connected to a big heavy rock that was outside of her capability to budge.

In excitement, she shoved both of her hands while imagining the things that she could do with a royal blood. She imagined the wildest things, and the wildest among them was to take over the royal bloodline.

While Ursula was enjoying herself in another realm, Ariel was helplessly looking at the 'imprisonment' on her wrists. Her remaining attire was the pair of white bras that Sarah had given. The beautiful dress she wore was ripped off by the magic Ursula had cast, since a dress was not a part of a mermaid's identity.

Out of nowhere, the bow that Ariel used to have on her hair slowly sank in front of her. It landed right on her hands, almost like it knew to whom it belonged. It rose a small smile on her lips, but due to Ursula's magic, the bow disintegrated into pieces, as if a pair of invisible and reckless hands was ripping it off.

Her smile turned upside down.

In silence, she pondered of the life ahead of her. She was going to be kept as one of Ursula's prisoners. Only God knew if anyone would recognize her in the shape of a polyp. Everything could've been ended happily, but for this case, it didn't. She was so close to finishing the deal, but yet, so far.

Right when she was about to ask if Ursula was done with mumbling around her plans, two figures showed up from afar. Both Ursula and Ariel were aware of this, and Ariel was the only one who was happy to see who the figures were.

"Daddy! Flounder!"

"Ariel, what have you done?" Triton asked with a disappointed tone. "Ursula, what have _you_ done?"

"Doing the usual business, _promises_ ," the Sea Witch smiled slyly.

"Release her at once!" Triton pointed his trident at the witch. Ursula felt threatened, so, she summoned the contract in front of her. It glowed brightly in yellow.

"Ah, ah, ah! Slow down, mister! A deal _is_ a deal!"

"Nonsense!" Following his instinct as a father, the king shot a blast of yellow beam into Ursula's direction. With reflex, she shielded herself with the contract paper, and a blinding light blinded the scene for a second.

Once the light subsided, no mark was found on the contract paper. Ursula herself found this surprising, but she's buying it.

"HAHA! You're quite foolish for a king, Triton!" Ursula mocked. The contract paper, however, glowed so bright, it blinded the scene again. A thunderous sound was heard in the process, and it was followed with a loud grunt that belonged to King Triton.

After the light subsided, Triton was found bending his back in pain, still grunting in pain.

"DADDY!"

"Your majesty-" Flounder checked his king thoroughly, and later concluded that the contract paper had struck him with the power of the trident itself. Ursula came up with the same conclusion, and it only widened that sly smile of hers.

"Ohh, never knew that it was capable of doing that. Oops?" Ursula shrugged. "Now, please excuse us, _King_ Triton."

"N-No, wait!" He looked up. "I'll... offer a deal."

"A deal?" Ursula turned around, "A deal, you said?"

"Yes," he straightened his back again. "A deal. Trade me for my daughter's freedom,"

The Sea Witch raised her brows. "Even if that means..."

"No, daddy! Don't do this!" Ariel yelled from the back, attempting to free herself desperately. But the rock wouldn't budge an inch.

"Yes," he gestured to his trident. "I could care-"

"Say no more, old man!" With a snap of a finger, another contract paper materialized in front of the king. It was followed with a fish bone imitating as a pen. The contract had details written on it, which Triton never bothered to read. The only thing that he cared was the space for his hand signature right at the bottom of the paper.

"SIGN IT, AND SHE WILL BE FREE!"

"NO, DAD, NO!"

King Triton took the fish bone, and signed the contract. The deal was settled! Magically, the chains on Ariel's hands dematerialized. For that, Triton was turned into a tiny polyp. Of course, the trident and the crown that Triton possessed were a part of his identity no more, considering he's a mere polyp. The crown landed right on top of Triton, circling him. Even his crown was larger than his own size.

With a sly giggle, Ursula picked up the crown and placed it on her head. A sudden flow of energy filled her veins, empowering her being even more. And that wasn't the end. When she grabbed the trident, it radiated red hot on the area where her skin contacted. It was an odd sensation, yet victorious. When she grabbed the trident firmly, the trident sent a shock wave across the water. She was complete. She was now the new ruler of the sea.

Ariel swam toward her father. As gently as possible, she picked him up.

"Daddy... why?"

He couldn't answer. His love toward his daughter had consumed his healthy mind, but it was for the best. Ariel knew there was a bigger problem at the moment, but she could care less. Her father had been turned into something else, something _weaker_. It was all for her own sake, and here she was, alive, not imprisoned by the Sea Witch, which pretty much equals death. Yet, the guilt was there. How could she ever redeem herself?

"You two mind if I redesign the royal bloodline?" Ursula asked the trio, and they turned to her, wondering what she could possibly mean. Triton was the first to realize what she meant, and he jumped and jumped on Ariel's hands to grab her attention.

She turned to him. "What is it, daddy?"

Before he could even attempt to answer her, a vortex of water separated the trio. It was Ursula's doing!

"I think it's time to declare who the new ruler is..."

* * *

"What do you mean she was taken away? And who's this 'Sea Witch'?" Delbert asked.

"Ursula's the name," Sebastian replied. He was circled by everyone on the deck as he was standing on a barrel. "She has Ariel now, and we've got to save her!"

"How are we even going to save her?" Amelia asked. "She's underwater, for Pete's sake-"

Unexpectedly, a giant thunderous torrent of water emerged from the water just beneath the ship. The torrential water acted as a support for the Sea Witch just on top of the water. Everyone onboard looked down from the ship, and gasped at the sight.

A woman, reasonably ugly, was expanding in size. Her large black tentacles emphasized her monstrosity, and her crown & trident emphasized her title. The growth stopped right when she was as tall as an average lighthouse. Not much moments later, the sky turned grim, grimmer than a normal night sky. Thundering clouds were filling the air, and so were harsh winds.

"There's Ariel!" Jim shouted while pointing down to a vortex that soon breached the surface of the water just in front of the monstrous woman, where Ariel was seen in the bottom of it. The vortex was so fast in speed, that it drained the water near her, making Ariel immobile with no water to swim in. Everyone else spotted the same sight.

"Sebastian," Amelia called, "is that really the girl? I remember that she had a pair of _feet_."

"Positive! We have to save her now!" Sebastian said, nodding down.

 _"EVERYONE! TAKE YOUR POSITION!"_ Amelia exclaimed, and the crew set off to their posts. Having enough action performed in the day, Sarah and Delbert followed Amelia to the captain's quarter along with Ben, Morph, and Sebastian. She hoped that having Amelia's presence near her would shelter her. While everyone was on their process in securing the sails, the lifelines, and other essentials, Ursula happened to look up. Of course, she spotted the giant ship just above her, and saw this as a possible threat. She lifted the trident, and slowly aimed it at the ship.

Luckily, one person onboard noticed the sight.

"AMELIA! SHE'S GOING TO SHOOT US!" Sarah shouted, who happened to look down at Ursula.

The feline nodded, "aye! Thank you for that Sarah!" With that, she applied some power on the thrusters with a swing of a lever, and banked the ship to the left. Shortly after, a loud ear-bleeding noise was heard, and a towering beam of electricity shot towards the sky. It hit the secondary boat that Jim had just 'parked' right beside the mothership, and destroyed it into pieces.

"Oh my goodness!" Sarah cursed under her breath.

Amelia glanced at the Hawkins. "Sarah, I suggest you to take yourselves and the others into the captain's room. It's safer inside."

"Right, r-right. Let's go Delbert, Ben," Sarah gestured him to follow her.

"Okay Sarah," they responded in unison and followed her into the captain's room while carrying both Morph and Sebastian.

To gain a clearer vision, Amelia descended the ship, and tilted the ship to the left so it'd move in a circle on the harsh air. Ursula was staring at the ship with a death glare, seemingly having no desire in having a disturbance. So, she aimed her trident again at the ship.

"Silver!" Amelia called the cyborg, who was securing life lines on the mast on the center of the ship with Jim. The cyborg looked up.

"What is it?!"

"Operate the laser ball cannon! Attack that horrendous woman!" Amelia commanded. Silver scoffed for a moment.

"Aye aye, captain. Make sure everything's secure, Jimbo," Silver said before leaving his post to take another one. Jim nodded and continued his work.

"Oh you're a _beautiful_ one," Silver sat on the cannon's seat after checking the cannon's shape. Then, he aimed the cannon, and discovered that Ursula was attempting to shoot again. Silver reacted quickly by blasting a laser ball.

 _BOOM!_

The ball was launched. However, its speed was slow enough to be anticipated by the Sea Witch. Ursula shot another electric beam, and the shot landed right on the laser ball, which blinded the scene for a second.

"Blasted ol' woman!" Silver cursed. He proceeded to shoot more rapidly, launching more laser balls as the ship moved in a circling maneuver around the giant Ursula. The amount of laser balls that headed toward Ursula was too much, that several managed to hurt her on her tentacles. However, it wasn't enough. They barely did a scratch.

"Amelia, we need more firepower!" Silver reported.

"Roger that!" Amelia grabbed the cone-shaped mic on the control center beside her. Through the loud speakers installed on every corner of the ship, she commanded, "Go to the cannons! Fire with everything we have to the hostile!"

Numerous 'aye's were spoken as response, and it didn't take long for Amelia's crew to reach the cannons. Shortly, more fires were shots. The firepower varied from lasers, cannon balls, to laser balls. The interference dug under Ursula's skin.

"Foolish humans!" Ursula cursed, and her curse echoed through the atmosphere. Everyone in the scene heard this, including the ones in the captain's room.

Ursula summoned a wall of water to shield herself, which was basically a waterfall, only reversed. It never acted as a proper shield, but it managed to slow down any projectile heading toward her.

While busy shielding herself, Ariel saw this as an opportunity. She slowly crawled on the rough rock towards the wall of the vortex. In the middle of her way, she spotted a yellow tint on the wall. It was Flounder! The fish was swimming in the opposite direction of the vortex with every bit of his energy, and in the process, also closing the gap between him and the mermaid to reach her by banking slightly to the right.

"Flounder!" She called. The fish noticed the call, and gestured Ariel to come closer. She crawled and crawled, until she spotted another tint of color in the wall of the vortex.

"Flounder, behind you!" Ariel called. It was Flotsam and Jetsam, racing towards the tropical fish. With their slender shape, they were cutting through the water more easily than Flounder, so they were gaining.

Flounder noticed the threat, and decided to use the environment as an advantage. He stopped swimming abruptly, and let the spinning water take himself to the eels. The eels were surprised, but they were slow on countering the fish as they were both slapped with Flounder's fin. The knock made the eels to be spun around on the vortex, but what Flounder never expected the eels to be thrown into the center of the vortex where Ariel was. Seeing this, Flounder gasped and rushed himself towards Ariel by swimming against the current again.

Flotsam and Jetsam never expected to reach the center of the vortex as well, but they would do anything to prevent the mermaid from escaping while their queen was busy with something else. They wiggled on the rugged surface, and once Flotsam reached the slow mermaid, he bit her right on the worst spot imaginable. Her wound.

 _"AHH!"_

Ariel screamed on top of her lungs, which attracted Ursula's attention. Seeing her boys were doing work, she wanted a piece of the action too.

"Let me finish her, boys!" She exclaimed.

The pain she received was too much, so Ariel punched the eel on the face. However, Flotsam's teeth had already dug into Ariel's skin too deeply, when they let go of the wound, it only caused even more pain. To prevent Jetsam from causing anymore harm, Ariel slapped him with her tail. She was about to continue crawling, but once again, the agony halted her.

"Say goodbye, little one," Ursula said. Ariel looked up to see the trident was aimed at her. Electricity was charging the trident. Once it was ready, Ursula shot it. Simultaneously, multiple cannon balls hit the gigantic witch on the back, and it made the trident point at the eels instead! One thing she was unaware of was the fact that she unsummoned her barrier of water as she was aiming at Ariel. As the result, Ursula ended up taking the lives of her boys instead.

 _"NO! MY POOR BOYS!"_ Ursula yelled.

Ignoring the agony as much as she could, the mermaid 'jumped' into the whirlpool with her hands. The contact wasn't soft, but the rapid current allowed her to flee from Ursula with Flounder. Having lost visual of the mermaid, Ursula cursed under her breath. Before she could even think of a method to search for the mermaid, another round of plasma balls and cannon balls were shot at her back. This time, the impact made her bend.

 _"YOU WILL PAY FOR THIS!"_ She turned around, and zapped a beam at the ship with the trident. The beam landed right on the ship's back hull, where the thrusters were. The landed shot disabled the ship's thrusters immediately, as Amelia discovered the matter when she attempted applying more power on the thrusters but received no feedback.

"EVERYBODY, BRACE!" Amelia exclaimed on top of her lungs so that everyone could hear her. For a few seconds, the ship was letting itself being pulled by gravity. Nearly all foot onboard had gone airborne in that brief moment. With a loud _crash_ , the ship hit the water hard. Saltwater splashed and wetted nearly everyone onboard. Within just seconds, the boat had just retreated technology wise _decades_ back where boats would float on water, not on air.

Having the ship disabled, Ursula used the chance. She charged the trident again, but this time, she dipped the tips in the water. As if the water was alive, it reacted as Ursula commanded mentally. The water below the ship suddenly turned torrential, and seconds later, two large waves were built on the ship's left and right sides. The waves were so tall, the dim lighting around the ship was dimmed even more. Everybody's last hope was their lifelines.

"Everybody... brace again," Amelia warned, but with a lower voice.

So, everyone did. Everyone held tight to their lifelines. But Ursula had something else under her sleeve. Since she was the ruler of the sea, she ruled _everything_ in it, including the wildlife.

Out from the building waves, Great White sharks jumped out with their mouths wide open! They beached themselves on the deck and started slaughtering anything nearby.

* * *

"I'm hearing screaming out there, should we take a look?" Ben asked to Sarah, who was seated on the captain's bed.

"No, let's just wait. I just need... to collect myself," Sarah excused. She didn't want to go out there due to one reason; to avoid any more life-taking action. Although her son was the only life that mattered to her in the current situation, she'd never expected that she would have to end other lives in the process.

She'd seen blood, _plenty_ of them. She'd witnessed _agony,_ an abundance of agony. She'd witnessed a pair of eyes watching everything going dark. She'd witnessed a spill of guts on the floor. For a mere woman, she had seen too many.

Delbert was aware of the problem, though he never specifically mentioned that he was, but he knew that the woman needed some comfort. He was no psychologist, but the least thing he could was to be there for her.

Sebastian and Morph were on the captain's desk, merely watching the woman in confusion. But then, the screaming outside began to worry them that it distracted them.

"What's going on out there?" Sebastian asked.

His answer was soon answered. Amelia, Silver, Jim, and three other men barged into the room while caked in blood. Right when all of them got in, what made them rush into the room was revealed. A shark, wiggling its way using its belly towards the door of the room. Before it could enter the room, Jim slammed the door shut and locked it.

"WHY ARE THERE SHARKS ONBOARD?!" Sarah asked on a loud volume.

"Long story, Sea _Bitch_ placed them here," Amelia walked to a drawer and grabbed a box of tissue out. She cleaned some areas on her body from bloods. The new guests did the same.

"And whose bloods are those?" Delbert asked.

His wife glanced at him, and sighed. "There might be some of my men's as well, unfortunately."

"Are you guys hurt?" Sebastian asked.

Jim shook his head. "No, fortunately. But, we're down on the number. We're the only ones remaining," he responded. His mother helped him clean down some dirty areas. "We never anticipated the element of surprise. The lifelines had just turned into _deathlines_. Our mobility was reduced, and there were sharks to run away from."

"I suppose we need to give her a taste of her own medicine," Silver suggested. "We're going to startle her to _death_."

The suggestion sparked an idea in Jim's head. "I think I have a plan," Jim spoke. Everyone turned to him, intrigued of what he had to say. But then, an impact made the ship wobble from left to right, and everyone lost their balance simultaneously. They were sure that the ship had just gone underwater for a second, but surfaced again afterwards. From the gap under the door, water flowed in. But it was never a threat, as it receded seconds later.

In suspicion, Amelia checked outside by opening the door. She scanned the environment that was lacking of the previous Great White's.

She shut the door and turned to the rest. "The sharks are gone. I'm guessing the waves on the ship's left and right that acted as their portal had just crashed onto the ship."

"Huh," Jim brushed his cheek with a hand. "This ship could take a punch."

The cyborg in the room cleared his throat. "Good news, then. Anyhow, shoot away, Hawkins," Silver said, patting the boy's shoulder.

"Right, but we're going to need everyone." He turned to his mom to ask for approval. She deeply sighed, and nodded.

"Fine."

"Right, here's the plan... Captain Amelia, the thrusters were only hit by a surge of electricity, correct?" Jim glanced at her. She nodded in approval.

"Correct..."

"So, there's still hope."

Out in the free water, Ariel and Flounder were fleeing for their dear lives. While swimming, she constantly looked back plenty of times, with a hope that she might find an idea of where Jim and the rest of his guys were. However, it was best for her to flee and warn the Atlantians about what just happened.

As they were about to swim over a hill of corals, the duo stopped at an odd sight. The water ahead of them suddenly turned into ice, as if they materialized out of nothing. Soon, the spreading ice formed into a large wall that spread from left to right with a slight curve, blocking the duo's path. The wall 'grew' vertically too, and stopped when it reached the bottom.

"Oh no!"

Ariel and Flounder swam as fast as they could towards the area of where the ice hadn't reached. But they were nowhere near fast enough. By the time they discovered that the ice was spreading too quickly, they slowly slowed down their pace in hopelessness.

"How come there's ice appearing out of nowhere?" Flounder asked.

Ariel palmed her fists. "It must be Ursula's doing." The mermaid looked up and swam upwards toward the surface, followed by her best friend. Once they surfaced, it shocked her to see the wall of ice circling the two. The wall's height was half of Ursula's height, who was patiently searching for the sign of Ariel in the middle of the round wall. It might seem short if the wall is compared to Ursula's height, but it was clearly too much for the mermaid to jump over.

 _"Where are you, Ariel?"_ Ursula asked in a ghostly voice.

Ariel gasped when she saw Ursula, and dived underwater. However, that tiny _splash_ was enough for the Sea Witch to have an idea of where she was. Using her magic through the trident, Ursula made the water around the mermaid to send the mermaid upward. Soon, the mermaid was thrown into the air, as if she was sprung away by a trampoline. It took her some time to correct the landing, but she took too long. Ariel landed on her back hard, and it _pained_ her severely.

"Ariel!"

She slowly sunk down. She was still conscious, but the pain prevented her from moving a muscle at this point. The only sense that she was using mainly was her hearing. Ariel heard the loud lightning above the surface, followed with a hollow laughter that belonged to Ursula. She also heard her best friend calling for her name three times. The third one sounded harder than before, which made her eyes peel open. But the only thing she spotted was a giant hand breaching the surface above her.

Ariel never reacted, as her way for escape was blocked by the fingers. She was brought up to the air, and she faced that ugly face of the new ruler of the sea.

"Not so good at hide and seek, are you, Ariel?" Ursula asked.

Ariel only tried to back off with her hands in fear. Ursula's large middle finger blocked her path, however.

"I'll try to make this quick and free of pain, don't worry."

Ursula slowly closed her fingers. She was going to crush Ariel!

"NO! WAIT-" Ariel yelled. She attempted to crawl her way out the crushing hand. Right when she was on the edge, Ursula's fingers reached her body. She felt an immense pressure on her back, which had already been injured by her landing previously. The pressure forced her to bury her face into Ursula's skin, so she was seeing nothing at this point. In the darkness, she was only sensing the immense pressure, until she _heard_ something. A loud _boom_ , followed with a couple of other same sounds.

Ursula's grasp loosened, and Ariel was freed! She fell into the water, and fortunately, contacting the water with her tail first. So, no extra suffering was added to the mermaid. Flounder spotted the mermaid's appearance, and quickly rushed to her to nurse her.

 _"YOU UTTER-OOF!"_

Another round of shots was sent, and it cut Ursula's sentence off. The ship had just regained its engines, all with the help from Silver and Ben, the best engine surgeons onboard. They remained in the engine bay to keep a look on the engine. Amelia controlled the laser ball cannon, and her husband was manning the ball cannons in the weapon bay with the other Amelia's men. They lit as much fuses as possible as they ran from one cannon to another. Sarah and Morph were installing explosives on the base of the bowsprit of the ship. It was going to be used in the plan that was taking place.

As for Jim, he was manning the wheel.

"A round ice wall, huh? She must've been trying to trap Ariel," Jim said to himself. "I think I can use it."

"What are you thinking now, boy?" Sebastian asked, who was watching the scene from the control panel right next to Jim.

"Oh you'll see."

Jim reduced the altitude of the ship and neared the round ice wall that surrounded the Sea Witch. He closed the gap between the ship's right hull and the wall and used its slippery surface as a slide for the ship to circle the giant enemy seamlessly! They were now circling Ursula in a counter clockwise direction. This was never in Amelia's mind.

"JIM! QUIT PERFORMING SUDDEN UNPLANNED STUNTS, WILL YOU?!" Amelia shouted. She was only responded with a grin. Groaning, she decided to flow with the situation. She kept on shooting Ursula with laser balls, which she happened to find to be easier with their new movement now.

"MOM! I'M BUYING TIME HERE, AND THEY'RE EXPENSIVE!" Jim exclaimed. His mother noticed the warning.

"I know! We're working on here with carefulness!"

Sarah's task was a particularly hard one. She had to install two explosives on the base of the bowsprit. One on top, and below it, to make sure that the explosion's angles would be perfect for Jim's plan. She had installed the one for the top of the bowsprit, and the bottom one was the last one. Heading to the underside of the bowsprit meant doing a life-risking maneuver in order to reach it.

Sarah had Morph as her partner in the work. So, to work things out, she told the alien to transform into something useful. Morph thought of something, and transformed into a small anchor with a rope on the end.

Sarah snapped a finger. "Brilliant idea!"

She tied the rope around her waist as tight as possible in a certain knot. Afterwards, she put the anchor on the bowsprit itself. She was now ready, equipment wise. But mentally? Not really.

"Here goes nothing..."

With that, she jumped off and held onto Morph for her dear life. The shootings of the cannons sent vibration on the hull where Sarah was stepping on. The ice scraping against the ship's hull was a magnificent sight to look at, that she felt like she was in a car chase scene. But it was something more than that, something more epic.

She descended herself to the bottom base of the bowsprit, and placed the explosive on it with the sticky side. Her job was now done! All she needed to do was to climb back up. And she did it, seamlessly, only a couple hundred heartbeat faster.

"Jim, the explosives are set!" Sarah exclaimed, as Morph transformed back into its normal form.

"Roger that!" Jim grabbed the mic next to him. "Everyone, brace for impact," he announced.

He let go of the mic. "Mom! Get back to the cabin! Wait for my signal!"

"Okay!" With that, she rushed to the cabin with Morph. Amelia joined her once she made it into the cabin.

"Your son is very brave," Amelia complimented. "Shame that he left the academy so soon," she crossed her arms.

"I agree. Will you make an exception for him to resume his study, instead of starting over?" Sarah asked, and received a scoff as a response. The brunette took out the trigger of the explosives to examine it. It had a small antenna on it, and its safety on. She removed the safety.

"I'm surprised to see you knowing where the safety is." Amelia chuckled. They felt the ship slow down as it banked to the left. The engine roared loudly again as it accelerated after banking. The sound of the scraping ice ceased afterwards, which could only mean one thing. They were en route.

"Hmph, it's not the first time for me, Amelia," Sarah scoffed.

Jim applied more power onto the engine, and the ship was building a faster speed. Up ahead, was Ursula herself. While gritting his teeth, he aimed the bowsprit right at the Sea Witch's chest. Ursula was clearing her vision after receiving so many shots on her face, although not even one pierced through her skin.

She saw a glimpse of the ship, and it made her gasp deeply to see it heading right towards her.

To avoid it, Ursula moved slightly to the right. Jim didn't have time to correct the ship's direction, so it only hit the witch's left shoulder. But this time, the attack finally did spill some blood.

 _"ARGHH!"_

The witch roared in pain, echoing the atmosphere thoroughly. Jim mentally celebrated, although that was not a part of his plan.

Up ahead, there was a wall of ice to avoid. His speed was too much to slow down from, so he decided to perform yet another stunt.

"Jim... ICE WALL UP AHEAD!" Sebastian warned.

"I know! Just, hold onto something!"

Hearing that he had to hold onto something, Sebastian hopped onto Jim's shoulder and gripped his shirt. Jim pulled the altitude lever down, and it increased the ship's altitude slowly. It would've achieved more altitude, had the ship gone in a slower speed. But its speed wasn't enabling him from climbing an altitude high enough to fly over the ice wall.

Jim pulled the lever until it hit the bottom, and the ship's nose was tilted up at the maximum angle. It was high enough to see only the grim sky up above.

They neared the wall, and everyone was startled by the loud sound of the ship's bottom hull scrapping against the icicles on top of the walls after it flew over the wall!

"YES!" Jim celebrated.

"Jim, what did we just hit?!" Silver asked through the speaker on the control panel from the engine bay.

The boy grabbed the mic. "Just a part of the stunt, hold onto something again! We're not done yet!"

"What does that boy have in mind, exactly?!" Delbert asked, who was helping the other men to stand back up in the weapon bay.

Jim never turned the ship's nose angle back to normal. Instead, he used it as an advantage. With the speed he'd already built, and the angle they were at, he let the ship climb higher. The nose of the ship was still heading upwards, so the ship started heading _downward_ instead after it reached the point where the ship was upside down. The ship was performing a loop in midair!

Jim had done the same thing on a solar surfer, so he had no problem when he had nothing to stand on. For the others, holding onto something was never really enough when they had nothing for their feet to stand on top of when everything was upside down, even only for a brief moment.

The ship's speed was now adding, due to gravity. The ship's descent was aligned to hit Ursula this time by Jim.

In her vision, Ursula spotted the ship heading towards her from the sky in front of her. She had no idea how the ship was now in front of her when it was behind her moments ago. And she also had no idea of how to counter the ship. She even had no _time_ to react.

"NO-GACK-"

The ship's bowsprit impaled the witch on the chest, it reached the heart, too. The impact sent Jim and Sebastian flying to the main deck. Some woods of the front hull of the ship were shattered due the immense amount of inertia force. However, what mattered at this point was the kill.

And they did it. The Sea Witch was slayed.

Ursula's pupils dilated. Her grasp on the trident was loose, and it minimized in size. The water started to consume her lifeless body, although her tentacles were still moving about. The bowsprit that impaled her heart was a connector between the ship and Ursula. So, her lifeless body was taking the ship into the water.

"Mom, now!" Jim yelled. Although she expected a signal from the speaker, Sarah triggered the explosives after collecting herself a bit.

 _BLAM!_

The explosion separated the bowsprit from the ship, leaving it attached onto Ursula as she sank into the depth.

Flounder, who was nursing Ariel with anything he could, spotted the giant carcass of Ursula. She was exposing both blood and electrical smoke onto the water. Her body fell into a trench, only to be never seen again.

"Oh my god... They did it."

It was a spectacular look, for him. But Ariel peeling her eyes open was even more spectacular for Flounder. A smile instantly curled.

"Ariel?! Oh boy, you've _missed_ something awesome."


	11. Final Chapter

_Triton lifted his arm, pointing he trident right at the boy's chest. Jim filled his head with questions right away. What else was going to happen after slaying the Sea Witch?_

 _"_ _Leave my daughter alone… for now. She needs to recover first. You may see us in the not distant future."_

 _He relaxed his muscles. "That is all, farewell."_

 _With that, he descended into the depth, leaving Jim and his companions on the small solar boat. Sarah and Amelia._

 _"_ _A simple thank you would've been nice," Amelia crossed her arms. "I expected more from the king of the sea."_

* * *

"Nice… thank you for bringing me here, Ben."

"You're welcome, Seb."

The crustacean hopped off from the robot's hands, piercing the sands slightly with his pointy feet. It had been a while since Sebastian actually stepped on the sands, let alone washing himself in saltwater.

Sebastian had been on a routine where he'd go back into Atlantica City to check the others, especially Ariel, and resurface back to Benbow Inn to report Ariel's condition. He'd been doing this for two weeks since the day the Sea Witch was slayed.

The sand Sebastian was stepping on was warm, and he used this opportunity to warm his shell. He dug himself in the sand, and enjoyed the sun above him. Seeing his friend relaxing, Ben came up with the desire to do the same. But he decided to hide under a shade, and it was the shade of the pirate's ship that they had beached right next to them.

"Isn't it marvelous, the adventure we had weeks ago?" Ben asked.

Sebastian peeked the robot with an eye. "I'll admit, I never thought a living being like myself would experience such an adventure. But would I go for another one? _Nope._ "

"Heh, if you say so. I'd totally go for another one if the chance were given."

He processed his statement. "Perhaps… One that is less life-risking. Then I might be interested."

"What's life without death-risks?" Ben complained. "It's an essential of life itself!"

"It is called a _lively_ life, I'd say, Mister."

"I have to agree with him on that."

The duo looked up in unison to the source of the unusual voice. Their eyes widened right away when they found out it was the ruler of the sea who had 'agreed' with Sebastian. He was sat on a rock just an inch from the sands.

"My, y-your majesty!" The crustacean cleaned himself from bits of sands. "I was not aware of your—"

"Oh, it's fine, Sebastian," the king gave a gesture to assure him. Even with the king who was pretty chill, the two still bowed before him before looking up to him.

King Triton cleared his throat. "I've come here, after gathering some might and getting rid some _egos_ , to see the people who have slayed Ursula."

"Right… and what are you going to do with us?" Ben questioned, cocking one of his mechanical brow.

The king took a deep breath, trying to bury his ego. "I want to… express my gratefulness to the heroes of the sea. Had you not stopped Ursula from doing her evil plan, the _whole_ world, not just the sea in particular, would've looked different by now."

A little bit convinced, Ben shared a look with Sebastian. But being one of the king's servant, Sebastian eyed to the cliff, telling him to call the others.

"I'll call the others, Your Majesty."

* * *

Sarah, her son, and Silver made their way to the beach, and the mother figure was already unhappy to see the ruler of the sea. Basing her behavior on her motherly instinct, she glared at the king right away. Both Jim and Silver were very aware of her mood at the moment. She was radiating an aura so obviously, that Sebastian and Ben were aware of the angry mother, too. But they didn't bother to tell her to calm down.

King Triton, however, lacking a presence of a wife in his life for a long time, didn't notice the signal. He simply questioned about the number of people that showed up after Ben's return.

"I suppose you need more than three people onboard to operate a ship?" He asked.

"Um, there are another two, but they have gone to their home," Ben answered.

"Oh no, _Ben._ Operating a ship merely needs a single man onboard, along with a proper might and a brain of tricks," Sarah patted her son on the back. Jim simply played along.

Triton cocked a brow after hearing her tone. "Uhh… You're the one who did that?"

"Ya heard the lass," Silver added, buckling his belt. "The lad here, was the mastermind."

"Yes, Your Majesty," Jim replied. "I operated the ship, and drove the bowsprit of the ship into the Sea Witch's heart. But, without my companions, including my mother, here, my plan would've never succeeded."

It surprised the king to hear that it was Jim who acted as the mastermind. "You? And your—" Triton didn't dare to say the word, as he had just realized the woman's true role.

" _Mother_? Is that the word you're looking for?" Sarah placed her hands on her hips. Neither Sebastian nor Ben was dare enough to intervene the scene.

He looked down in embarrassment. "My… apologies," he looked up. "I've caused harm to your son—"

Triton stopped speaking when he discovered that Sarah was still not buying it. He decided to pick his words more carefully. He could barely remember the last time he had a moment similar like this, but one thing was sure, it felt like nostalgia, although the nostalgia could've been about something better, something less _nerve-wrecking_.

"My _biggest_ gratitude, and my _deepest_ apologies. For you have stopped Ursula and her plan to take over the sea, and for I… have caused a harm to your son."

"That's about... two weeks late. Has it been two weeks, yet?" Sarah asked her son. Her son simply nodded.

" _And_ for being late."

Sarah stepped forward, dipping her bare feet into the water. "You're aware that the trident could've done something more than just erasing a part of his memory, weren't you?" Sarah pointed a finger at the trident Triton was holding. "It's a trident that possesses the power of the whole sea! And you decided that it would be fine to use that to strike him with that? What on earth could my son have possibly done that he earned such a _mindless_ and _merciless_ action?!"

"Sarah, please calm down, he's still the king—" Sebastian pleaded, gripping her skirt.

"Oh, stop right there, already! King or no king, a mother would bow to nothing and nobody if it's to protect her beloved ones! And for the record, my son is the only family I've _left!_ "

Her tone was the tone a mother would use to reprimand a certain person, and clearly, it wasn't the proper one to use when speaking to a royalty. However, Triton could care less. He was at fault, and everything she had said to him was right.

Triton forced himself to look up at the woman in shame. He blinked, and he couldn't believe his eyes at this very moment. He saw his wife instead, posing in a pose Sarah was posing. Her crooked brows, her furious blue eyes, it was very much her! The only difference was the attire she's in, she was in Sarah's dress. But other than that, it's very much Athena. His wife.

Once he blinked again, he saw Sarah once again. That brief moment of disbelief and shock was enough for Triton to learn that it was time to get rid of the shame and to man up.

He planted his trident's bottom tip on the sand, and took off his crown. He stuck it on the trident so he could bow before Sarah on the water. Sebastian gasped deeply at his action.

"I'm… _sorry._ For everything."

Never had Sarah ever thought in her life that the king of the sea would bow before her and the others, all for the sake of forgiveness. However, Triton earned her respect, and most importantly, her apology.

After a brief silence, the king looked up at Sarah.

"Back on your…" she paused, thinking before speaking the word out. " _Fins_ , Your Majesty."

Having not much water to float on, Triton sat on the rock back. Sarah scanned his face, and discovered honesty, genuineness, and guilt. Experiencing many relationships previously had given Sarah the ability to distinguish between the face of a deception and the face of honesty.

"I forgive you, Your Majesty. But there's still one thing you haven't done yet…"

He processed her statement ten times faster than he usually does at normal statement. "Ah! And all Atlanteans, including me, thank you all for your heroic action. If you could pass our thank you to your other colleagues, it'd be very much appreciated."

"Right. We will, Your Majesty," Jim responded.

"And I was also wondering… if we could ever pay you back for your services," Triton asked, scratching his head. "With something materialistic, or anything."

The statement caught the mother's interest side. "Hm."

Everyone in the beach proceeded to ponder of something that they could request in return. The thing that Ben had wanted for a while was an upgrade on his processor, but the king of the sea would have no such thing. Sebastian wasn't really in the position to think of something, but he did, anyway. Sarah was thinking about something valuable, something _expensive_ , but she thought it wouldn't be nice of her to ask for such a thing. Besides, she was not the craziest when it comes to riches. However, Silver was thinking the same thing. But, the cyborg also knew he was in no position to ask for something like that. As for Jim… asking the return of Ariel would be too much, he'd probably earn another strike with the trident.

The Hawkins exchanged a look, both expressing the same face. They even shrugged in unison.

"Your Majesty, it's really humble of you to offer us that, but we can't think of anything… _proper_ ," Jim gave a small hint of a smile. "But, if you could think of something," he eyed his mother, asking for a hint, and received nothing. "Uh… meaningful? It'd be very nice of you."

Triton stroke his white beard. "Hm… I think I can come up with something. I will return one day, and give you the present by myself."

The Hawkins nodded. "Yes. Thank you, your Majesty."

"One last thing," Triton raised a finger. "Although, I wasn't sure if I would do this. But, I'm here to update you about my… daughter."

Ben, Sarah, Jim, and Sebastian were taken by surprise. Never had they ever thought the King of the Sea would tell humans, the species that he despised, about his daughter's condition. But, they wouldn't mind at all.

"Alright…" Sarah spoke. "How's Ariel?"

* * *

The red-haired mermaid was in a deep slumber. She and her other sisters were asleep in their chamber. Morning was only minutes away, and the first one to sense it was, of course, the red-haired one.

Ariel had been always the early-riser. Whenever people think of an early-riser, they might think the person who does that is always ready to do something productive. However, the 'productivity' that Ariel did was not so productive in everyone's eyes.

She first stretched every muscle in her body, and weirdly felt an absence that she'd previously have. That very absence was the pain that she'd have on her left hip where she had had several wounds. She looked down, and found that the mark was nowhere to be seen.

 _'_ _Yes, finally!'_ She whispered. Using a gentle touch, she felt her skin on her left hip, and sensed a bit of mark of the wound. It was still there, but visually, it was not.

She uncovered herself from the blanket she had, and attempted to move her fins gradually. It took a few adjustments, but she managed to float in the center of the chamber. Previously, staying afloat in the water would burn plenty of energy for her. But now, she could already tell that her body had healed.

Her head spun to face the hole of the chamber that faced to the open sea. She swam towards it to see the surface slowly illuminating, reflecting the light of sunrise. Finally, she could do her routine that she had longed for a while.

Ariel dashed out of the hole, and headed upwards towards the surface. Once she was surfaced, she spun a little, and stopped on the east. And there it was, the sun that she adored.

"Oh how I miss the sun…"

Just right after she expressed her deep miss towards the sun, several solar ships flew past the mermaid on a relatively low altitude without warning. They were headed towards east, chasing the sun as it energized their solar sails. Seconds later, every ship in Ariel's sight tilted their nose up, heading straight into the open space up above.

It was a magnificent sight for a mermaid who had always wanted to have a pair of feet and walk on land. The sight was reminiscent of someone very important in her life, Jim, considering he's very experienced in boats.

"How is he?... I wonder. Perhaps I'll sneak my way to the beach today," she fisted her hands in determination. "Yes! I will! And no one's going to stop me!"

"Really, Ariel?" A deep, raspy, _fatherly_ voice called from behind.

Ariel turned around, and Flounder was there!

"Flounder! Jeez, I thought you were my father!" The mermaid splashed some water at the tropical fish. Instead of avoiding, the fish 'accepted' the water in triumph.

"Jeez, stop it."

The mermaid faced the sunrise once again, and with a chuckle, the tropical fish joined her on her left. Finally, the duo was able to do their morning routine they'd previously do.

"How did you know that I was up here?" Ariel asked her buddy.

Flounder shrugged. "I didn't. When you're still under your dad's supervision, I still would come up here."

She looked at Flounder. "Awh, Flounder. You really did?"

"Yep," Flounder shared a glance. "I miss you, Ari."

Ariel brought her buddy close to her, where their cheeks united. "I miss you too, Flounder."

Afterwards, they enjoyed the sunrise in a serenity. A flock of birds flying past, solar ships crossing the horizon, a leisurely enjoyable chat, the sun radiating on the far east, these were the essentials of the serenity taking place. That was, until, a solar ship flew past the two at a ludicrous speed. However, Ariel's sharp eyes spotted something falling from the ship right when it blew past them.

"Did you see that?" Ariel asked.

"See what?"

"The thing that fell! You really are a guppy, Flounder."

Ariel said no more as she leaped towards the direction where the object in question fell. As she paddled through the water, a small shape reached the surface. Seeing this, she picked up some speed. However, the object suddenly drowned, leaving her no choice but to dive.

The object slowly descended, but the mermaid quickly reached for it. Ariel examined it after resurfacing again.

"What is this?"

Flounder joined the examination, and asked the same question mentally. The object's shape was tubular. It was hollow on the inside, but there's a closing at the other end of the shape. Judging from the feel, Ariel think it was made out of metal.

Ariel tried to think of an answer hard, but came up with none. Then it clicked in her head, why not ask a human being for the answer? And who else could give the best answer if it's not Jim?

"I really need to get to Jim! I can ask him what this is, after I give him the biggest hug in the world," Ariel said in full determination.

"You sure your father would let you?" Flounder asked, scratching his cheek with a fin.

"Nope. But I'm Ariel, and you've seen what I can do."

The statement earned a confused look on Flounder's face. "… No?"

While still wondering what she could possibly mean, a grumbly roar sounded. The red-haired mermaid was hungry.

"That's the signal. Meet me at the usual spot after breakfast, 'kay?"

Before Flounder could even reply, Ariel already dived in the depth.

* * *

"Right, this will do."

It was past breakfast, and Triton apparently had missed it deliberately. His absence in the breakfast was a question mark for every single servant in the castle, let alone his own daughters. However, he gave a note to let them eat without his presence in the dining room for he had something to take care of.

Triton grabbed out a bracelet from inside a large shell where stored valuable possessions in it. The bracelet was forged out of the hardest coral rock in the sea, colored in a combination between green and blue. The bracelet was known by people who had used or witnessed it as an object that could 'tame' the water in the wearer's surroundings. It was not as powerful as Triton's trident, but it's really enough to protect its user.

To test out if it still had any magic left in it, Triton put the bracelet on his wrist. He pondered of a trick to pull.

"Hm," he extended his arm, and pictured of a small vortex in front of him. Magically, the water in front of him spun, creating a small vortex.

"It's still got its magic."

The king smiled proudly, and took off from his room with his trident.

He was on his way to the beach. On his way, many civilians of Atlantica city greeted him with waves of hands and smiles. Some guards offered him their presences to make sure no harm could reach the king. However, he kindly refused them. Being the king sure had plenty of benefits, let alone a wise king. However, he was still a merman at fault, and he had yet to redeem himself.

Minutes of swimming eventually brought him to his destination. Triton breached the surface, and he was immediately taken by shock to see two familiar figures on the water.

Ariel and Flounder.

 _"_ _JIM?! MS. HAWKINS?! BEN? ANYONE?!"_

While calling for their names, Ariel hit the water spontaneously as if she was a woman who needs an assistance from a nearby lifeguard. Occasionally, she also used the tubular object she had found previously to make more sound by contacting the bottom of it against a rock. Flounder was helplessly watching his best friend, until he spotted King Triton's figure on the corner of his eyes.

"Um, Ariel?"

"What?"

"You might want to turn around."

She did, and let out a deep gasp.

"D-daddy?! I d-didn't know—"

Weirdly, and most certainly unanticipatedly, the father figure simply chuckled at his daughter's behavior. It was such a goofy sight for him.

"It's alright, Ariel. I'm not grounding you or anything," he waved a hand. "How's your condition?"

"I'm doing great! Better than ever, actually! I felt no pain whatsoever during swimming!" Her tone was clearly trying to convince him, which Triton was very much aware of.

"I can see that. I was going to give you permission to roam around more, actually," Triton said. Ariel's face brightened immediately. Right when her face brightened, he spotted the object that he was going to question near her.

"Why do you have a cup with you?"

"A cup?" She lifted the object. "You mean this?"

"Yes, Ari. Humans use that to drink water or any drink they like. They pour the drink into the hollow part and drink it from the lid," he briefly explained.

"Oh… so that's a cup," Flounder said.

"I was going to ask Ji—one of them about it," Ariel smiled cheekily, with a hope that her father didn't figure out the name she was going to mention.

"Jim, is it?" He crossed his hands, returning the smile of his daughter. "Well, I have a task for you, my dear."

He planted his trident on the sand with a push, and took off the bracelet he had on his right wrist. Neither Ariel nor Flounder spotted the existence of the bracelet due to the sudden arrival of the king himself. However, Ariel recognized the object right away.

"Daddy, why were you wearing the _Aqualet?_ "

"Yesterday," he cleared his throat, "I came down here to meet the people who had taken down Ursula. I didn't meet all of them because some of them had already headed home, so I regret not coming earlier. Anyway, I showed up, and met the Hawkins, and that robotic person. I expressed my gratitude for their heroic services, and my rue for what I've specifically done… to the boy."

He paused, only to look up at Ariel who was taken aback a little. Her face expressed a little of disbelief at her own father.

"I suppose I haven't asked for your forgiveness, my daughter. I'm… sorry for erasing the memory of you and him inside his head. However, I think he already remembers you again," he smiled a little.

"All he needed was a little kick," she shrugged. "But… it's okay, daddy. I forgive you. I'm sorry too, again, for making such a deal with Ursula."

He smiled gratefully. His arms spread wide, and the two united in a big, warm hug. They pulled away seconds later.

"And this bracelet is my sign of gratitude for them. The Aqualet," Triton gestured at the object. "And now, about the task, Ariel. I need you to bring this to them."

She accepted the Aqualet when it was given to her. "Well… looks like it's busy hour up there, no one has heard me at all."

"Hm? Why don't you go up there, then?" Triton crossed his arms, having something under his sleeve.

"How?"

"Ariel," Triton grabbed his trident firmly, "I am going to miss you so much."

Flounder soon spectated a performance of light and magic that was indescribably mesmerizing before his eyes.

* * *

Indeed, it was a busy hour in the Benbow Inn. When they thought summer had ended and busy time had finished, they were completely wrong. However, the Hawkins couldn't complain for what they were doing was their earning. Ben was busy in the kitchen, using one of his eyes to look at a recipe virtually and using the other one to spectate the soup in front of him. Morph was cutting down some veggies into pieces in the form of a… saw. Silver kept telling the alien not to cut the veggies in the form of a saw, but he shrugged it off this time. Jim was tidying up the rooms on the second floor. And the owner of the inn, Sarah, was taking orders from the customers. She stopped at a table where a lass was sat. She rarely looked at the customer's eyes when taking the order, and that's exactly what happened here.

"Yes, yes, coming at you, Mrs. Witwicky! Good morning, young one. What would you like for breakfast?"

"How about…" the lass skimmed through the menu. "Rum?"

"Rum, in the morning?"

Sarah looked down at the customer, who was apparently Ariel, dressed in a fine yet simple white dress that lasted until her knees with a cup made out of metal in her grasp. She was smiling widely at the woman.

"OH MY GOD, ARI—" Without any other word, Sarah hugged Ariel with every ounce of motherly love she had for the girl. The hug was tight, but brief. Afterwards, Sarah pulled herself away and looked down. She was right, she had a pair of legs, and she was apparently barefoot.

"But, how?!" Sarah landed a hand Ariel's knee. "Oh my goodness, Ariel what are you into right now again?!"

"Don't worry, Sarah. My dad granted me this pair of legs. And… the dress," she chuckled.

"Really?! Oh that's the best news I've ever heard, almost like too _good_ to be true! Wait," she pinched her cheek all in sudden. "Am I dreaming?"

"No, Sarah. You're not," Ariel giggled.

Sarah pinched the ex-mermaid's cheek. "Are you dreaming?"

"N-No! Hahah, we're not dreaming, Sarah."

"Okay… well, I know someone who misses you a lot, and whom you miss a lot, as well," She placed her hands on her hips, smiling confidently. In response, she nodded vigorously.

"He's upstairs. Careful with the steps, as you're inexperienced with steps. And let me serve you," Sarah grabbed the metal cup Ariel had, "with something _healthier_ , missy."

"Thank you, Sarah!"

The lass gave one quick hug at the woman, almost like a daughter giving her mother a hug before she's leaving the house. Afterwards, she dashed to the staircase on the other end of the dining room. Once she was upstairs, she was greeted with a corridor of doors. On her left and right, closed doors were seen. She kept walking until the corridor made her turn right, where on the left, windows were seen instead of doors. They gave a perfect view of the calm ocean up ahead.

Ariel resumed her exploration. Soon, caught by curiosity, Ariel stopped at a double door, which happened to be opened. She stepped in, and the interior of the room interested her the most, as it was filled with many books. It was books, books, and books. And it didn't end there. There were plenty of objects varying in shapes, size, color, and functions, which she had no idea of, placed at numerous spots in the room. The sensation she was experiencing was something she would only experience when she was in her secret grotto. The only difference was the lack of knowledge about the room and its content, which only aroused her curiosity more than ever.

When Ariel was about to enter an aisle of books, she stopped at her track when she heard of a sound at the other end of the aisle.

And Jim was there, who was casually placing some books back where they belonged on the shelf.

 _"_ _Jim!"_

The call turned him around, and made him drop the books in his possession.

 _"_ _A-Ariel?"_

The two caught each other in each other's arms, closing any gap that existed between their bodies. Tucking her head in his neck, Ariel engulfed herself with Jim's unique scent. Jim did the same, only, he added kisses on her skin.

They pulled away a little, little enough for them to find each other's lips. They kissed passionately, lovingly, and _hard_.

The end


	12. Epilogue

It was late in the night. The moon was in the shape of a crescent, but then again, it's the Montressor spaceport, not the moon. Its brightness was enough to illuminate the beached ship near the inn. When everybody else was in their bed, the owner of the Benbow Inn was not in her bed. And the ship was where she was currently at.

Sarah dropped herself on the deck of the ship they once ventured in with a loud _thud_. Climbing onto the ship with a rope was a hard task, so she took a moment to let herself breathe in some cold oxygen. However, the moment was interrupted with a call.

"Who's there?"

A question called from the under the deck. The sound was familiar in Sarah's ears.

"Silver? Is that you?"

Sarah's eyes locked onto the set of stairs that led to the floor beneath her. Briefly, a head popped out. Indeed, it was John Silver.

"Sarah? What are you doing here?" Silver asked, stepping out of the stairs while brushing off some dusts from his shoulder.

"I could ask you the same thing," she crossed her arms. "You're not… trying to sabotage the ship and take it away at dawn, are you?"

"No, Sarah," he chuckled a little. "I never thought I'd find being a cook in your inn would be enjoyable. Perhaps, I could spend more time in peacefulness that adventures cannot provide."

"Hmph, I wouldn't say working in my place is any 'peaceful'," she stepped forward to the cyborg with a smile.

"Well, if I happen to be in the need or desire for an adventure, I'll make sure to leave ya a note before departing off, Sarah," Silver assured.

"Hahah… Alright, what are you up to, Mister?"

He sighed a little. "After weeks of cooking, I've been distracted by me job. Not that I'm complaining, it's just I simply forgot to investigate who was dare enough to touch a finger on me and take me and the others with recklessness."

Sarah's brown eyes widened a tad. "Huh, is that so? I happened to… have the same intention. It's also because…" she rolled her eyes onto a mast placed on the center of the ship. The mast had a sigil carved on the bottom that her brain felt familiar of. It was something that she had seen previously but couldn't figure out what it was, specifically. It had a monstrous looking creature in the center, with lines on its left and right that represented the wreckage it could do or did. She approached the carved sigil, and felt its weave. The carpentry done on the sigil was top-notch, but it wasn't something she was interested in.

"What is it, Sarah?"

"I've seen this sigil before… I really have, but I can't tell when I saw it," Sarah breathed a curse afterwards. The lack of memory irritated her.

"Hm, well, I found the captain's journal," Silver pulled out a journal from his pocket. "His name was… Harold Victor. Ring any bells?"

"No," she shook her head.

"Huh… and the name of this ship is the _Revenge. The Leviathan's Revenge._ Ring any bells, Sarah?"

She processed the name, and confirmed by nodding a little. "It is… somehow."

"Well, apparently, the lad had a boss. The lad worked for someone else, meaning they took us in to bring us to this boss of his. At least… that's what I figured, since when they took us into his captivity, he never bothered to come down to see us. His name is Leland… the last name is poorly written, and had ink drops on it. I can't make it out."

Her eyes widened in reaction. She almost couldn't believe her ears. "Leland, you said?!"

"Yes. Leland, L-E-L-A-N-D. Leland."

She took the journal all in sudden, and brought it to the area of the ship where moonlight touched it. With enough lighting, she read the name of the boss of Harold Victor, which read "Leland". It had a surname, which read "Ha", but the rest was covered in ink drops. However, she didn't need the rest, as she already knew who it was.

"I can't believe it… he's done it!"

"What are ya talkin' about, Sarah?" Silver approached her, puzzled with her behavior.

"The sigil, the name, the ambition… N-no…"

"Sarah, get a grip!" He took the woman on the shoulders, and captured her eyes with his. "Who's Leland?"

"Leland… Leland Hawkins," she paused, and Silver stomach dropped at the surname.

"It's Jim's father."

 **Hello there, been a while since I last gave an author's note. As I've mentioned previously, this book is merely a background story of the next book which I'm going to publish in the future. So much for a background story, eh? I know, I never thought I'd put this much work into a** ** _background_** **story. Anyway, thank you for reading this book. I really appreciate it. I'll see you in the next one, take care.**

 **Forgive me for my errors… I try my hardest to find them :**


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